Japan, Russia offer to help PH fight virus

TWO countries have offered their help to the Philippines in its battle against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

The Department of Health ( DoH) said Friday Japan had shipped a supply of the antiflu drug Avigan to the Philippines

for use in the clinical trial of 100 Covid-19 patients.

Russian Ambassador to Manila Igor Khovaev, meanwhile, told reporters the Covid-19 vaccine produced by the Gamaleya Research Institute was ready for mass production and distribution to partner-nations, including the Philippines.

The offers from Japan and Russia came as the Philippines overtook Indonesia as the Covid-19 epicenter in Southeast Asia.

On Friday, the DoH tallied 3,379 new Covid-19 infections, raising the total to 122,754.

Avigan, which is developed by the Japanese conglomerate Fujifilm, has drawn interest from many countries for its potential to prevent replication of the virus.

The embassy said Tokyo was working closely with several countries, including the Philippines, in doing research on the drug as treatment for Covid-19.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire confirmed the embassy’s statement, saying the clinical trials for Avigan could begin this month.

“We are processing the legal documents and we are set to start soon.” Vergeire said.

The Food and Drug Administration and the DoH’s Ethics Review Board had given the green light for the Avigan clinical trials.

Khovaev said Moscow was “ready to cooperate in three tracks: clinical trial, supply vaccine, and the most promoted option: local production of the vaccine in Philippine soil.”

He said his country would cooperate with the Department of Science and Technology and the DoH for the clinical trials of the vaccine.

Vergeire also downplayed the naming of the Philippines as the new Covid- 19 epicenter in the region.

She cautioned against comparing the situation in the Philippines

with what is happening in other countries like Indonesia and Singapore, adding other factors must be considered, such as the number of infected people per million population.

Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. also took exception to naming the Philippines as the Covid-19 epicenter in Southeast Asia.

Roque said on Friday the Philippines reported more Covid-19 cases than Indonesia because of the government’s improved testing capacity.

He said the Philippines has tested 1.5 percent of the population compared to Indonesia’s 0.34 percent, resulting in the surge in the number of infections in the country.

“Indonesia, with almost less than the same cases as us, has one-third of the actual testing we have conducted. That’s my basis for saying it is not true and conclusive that we have more cases in the Philippines compared to Indonesia. We just know more cases in the Philippines because our testing is three times more to the testing done by Indonesia,” Roque said.

He added that the country’s testing, tracing, and treatment efforts have been expanded in recent months, citing the increase in Covid- 19 laboratories and quarantine facilities.

With 100 laboratories now accredited, Covid tests have totaled 1,643,539, or an average of 28,938 per day.

The country’s positive rate is around 9.7 percent.