Manila hospitals get virgin coconut oil for patients
MANILA: The government has started distributing virgin coconut oil ( VCO) to Metro Manila hospitals to highlight its efficacy as a prophylaxis for especially for patients suffering from mild cases of the coronavirus ( COVID 19) pandemic.
VCO proponents said they coordinated with Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, the vice chairman of the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, for the distribution of their product to the hospitals in Metro Manila.
Metro Manila, composed of 16 cities and one town with a total population of more than 12 million residents, is considered as the epicenter of the pandemic that continues to wreak havoc on the country’s economy and the lives of people.
Marco Reyes, the president of VCO Philippines, admited their move arose from the decision of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant a Metro Manila hospital an emergency use authorization (EUA) of Ivermectin, a controversial anti-parasitic drug used for animals as a possible cure for COVID 19.
Dr. Eric Domingo, the FDA chief, acknowledged they granted the EUA to Ivermectin as a possible cure for the virus infections through a move initiated by a party-list congressman who personally testified on the efficacy of the product.
With IATF’S endorsement, Reyes expressed the hope that this would mean the start of a strong push to promote VCO as a prophylaxis or as an adjunctive cure especially for mild COVID infections.
Coconut is described as the “tree of life” which abounds in the Philippines and constitutes a major foreign exchange earner for its products especially coconut oil.
“VCO must always be part of the every supplementation strategy for COVID 19. First, because it is completely safe. Second, because it is effective, at the least, and, as of now, for mild symptoms as per DOST trial,” Reyes said.
DOST stands for the Department of Science and Technology which conducted a study with the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) which, Reyes said, “successfully” showed that a mixture of VCO meals of suspected and probable COVID cases in Santa Rosa City, Laguna in Southern Luzon helped in their recovery.
Based on the same study, Reyes said that all the participants had recovered and tested negative for the virus at the end of the 28-day trial. He revealed that the study was led by Imelda Agdeppa, the DOST-FNRI director, at the community hospital in Santa Rosa.
Dr. Ed Lalusis, who invented a patented VCO product in capsule form, agreed with Reyes in his protest against the grant of the EAU to Invermectin “even without concrete proof that it is safe and effective in treating COVID cases.”