11 December 23-29, 2021
OPINION State health...
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The US Food and Drug Administration in October authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 through 11 years old, stating the ”immune responses of the 3,000 in trials” of the age sector were “comparable to those of individuals 16- 25 years of age.” No serious side effects “were detected” and the vaccine was “found to be 90.7%” effective, said the FDA announcement. Ghaly gave his assurance as “a pediatrician and fa- CHERIE M. QUEROL MORENO ther of 4 with 3 kids under 12 years and no one without at least the first dose” that “the vaccines are the way through the pandemic.” Children ages 5-11 constitute 9 percent of the state population, he cited statistics concurring with moderator Regina Brown Wilson of California Black Media. Brown said that the age sector covers children who are 438,000 Asian and Pacific Islander, 171,000 Black or African American, and 1.1 million Latino. The vaccine for the younger sector follows a “different formulation,” Ghaly stressed. “Children will get a lower dose from vaccines for adults. The Pfizer vaccine for adults is .3% while the pediatric dose is .1% or one-third of the adult dose.” Ghaly corrected the assumption that children under 5-11 are not carriers or do not suffer from severe symptoms of coronavirus. As more older adults became vaccinated, the group more susceptible to infection were young people, in some cases under-18 representing 25% of the population, sometimes more, he added. EDITORIAL “Thirty young Californians have died from COVID, he said, declaring, “any additional death of a young person is unacceptable if it’s preventable.” The state health chief counted “hundreds of thousands of covid cases among young people. “ He asserted: “60,000 young people ages 5-11 have been hospitalized in the US or hundreds of thousands of our countrymen, especially those from the Visayas and Mindanao – specifically the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Negros for COVID 19. We have lost more kids to covid than other vaccine-preventable diseases in our nation. Now is the chance to get the same protection that so many Occidental, Cagayan de Oro, Guimaras, Southern Leyte, Bukidnon and older Californians have had for so many months that have protected them and kept Siargao – this will be the saddest Christmas in their lives. The reason is super typhoon Odette (international name Rai), which cut a our community safe.” The roll out began in November with 500 providers eventually to expand to path of destruction last week the likes that had not been seen in years, even decades. 4,000 including Kaiser Permanente, Dignity Health and federally qualified health The final death toll is not yet known, but scores are confirmed to have lost their centers and pharmacies, said Ghaly. lives. Damage to property will be in the hundreds of millions of pesos, perhaps bilLong-term complications of COVID for younger people “are real,” he warned. lions. Those complications affect the cardiovascular, endocrine or neurologic system and While there is no way to stop acts of nature from taking place, it was the weak sometimes psychiatric besides respiratory. response of the Duterte administration that made an already terrible situation much, Ghaly fielded questions ranging from the number and representation of children much worse. sampled in the clinical trials to myths fueling vaccination hesitancy. The government was completely unprepared for the Asian version of a Category Young people from all regions, races, ethnicities, with or without pre-existing 4 storm. It was already known the day before Odette entered the Philippine Area of conditions were among the participants in the trials that took months and months of Responsibility that strong rains and powerful winds were to be expected. availability of the data, he said. The trials were “robust.” Some will say that one day is not enough to prepare for a major calamity. We On the concern about the vaccine causing fertility problems down the road, “to disagree. Twenty fours is more than enough to warn residents to move to safer ground date” no connections have been seen in adults, male/female or youth, he attributed and lead them to evacuation centers. information from trade associations such as the American college of gynecologists The Duterte government failed. Again. It was not the first time that the regime of and obstetricians underscoring the safety of the vaccine. Rodrigo Duterte had been bogged down, either by the president’s personal laziness (Continued on page 27) or the bureaucratic red tape that has worsened since he came to power more than five years ago. Worst of all, Duterte announced that his government had no money with which to assist the victims of Odette. This, despite the law stating the funds must always be set aside for natural calamities. Philippine News Today is published weekly by Philippines Today LLC with business and editorial offices at 6454 Mission Street, Daly City, CA 94014., with telephones 650.757.1480, 650.872.3200, 650.552.9775 and website He gave the no-more-money excuse because all available funds had been used to address www.pnewstoday.com and email address advertising@philippinestodayus.com address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. or editor@philippinestodayus.com MANILA OFFICE: Le Marquis Townhomes, 51 P. Tuazon Blvd. Quezon City 1112, Tels. 8546.8426, 8451.1892, 8546.8421 Duterte conveniently ignored the fact that his administration had borrowed trillions of pesos from foreign sources, allegedly as a response to the pandemic. FRANCIS ESPIRITU Publisher/President There has been no accounting of the loans and we suspect that a good portion was MARILYN B. KING THELMA L. CRUZ ALFRED G. GABOT lost to graft and corruption – Pharmally scam, anyone? – or to the sheer incompetence Vice President Vice President Editor-in-chief for Sales and Marketing of the administration. for Operations & Promotions CLAIRE M. TRUE It gets worse. BETING LAYGO DOLOR CHERIE QUEROL MORENO Managing Editor Manila Editor Executive Editor While the likes of Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Manny Pacquiao – presidential bets both – were already instructing their camps to extend whatever posJUNNI RANILLO NEIL GONZALES JO ERLINDA YABUT LYDIA SOLIS Entertainment Editor Chief Correspondent Entertainment Editor Chief Correspondent sible assistance could be delivered to the victims, Duterte dared blast the former for Northern California Southern California stealing his thunder. ANGELO LOPEZ MA. CECILIA G. MADELO THOMAS G. MADELO JR. While Robredo and Pacquiao were willing to work together to help, the president Cartoonist Graphic Director Creative Director aimed his unkind words at the vice president, a strong candidate to succeed him and ELEANOR SMITH replace his useless regime next year. Office Manager GILDA PASION BALAN BLESIE D. SISON FRANCO G. REGALA Thick-skinned Ferdinand Marcos Jr not only asked for donations from the public ALBERT MARTINEZ NICK SAGMIT ALI MACABALANG RENE AMON but what little assistance he has extended had to have his name and image in the packGEORGE GANGE Account Executives JEANNE MICHAEL PENARANDA RENE AVENIDO ages. We ask: With his stolen billions, why in God’s name would anyone donate funds Manila Correspondents Photo Correspondents through him? VAL G. ABELGAS, HOMOBONO A. ADAZA, PERRY DIAZ, JOJO LIANGCO, We tire of bringing up the numerous shortcomings of Duterte and his regime of corJO ERLINDA G. NEBRES, ROY C. MABASA, ART G. MADLAING, rupt, incompetent or generally useless politicians with little regard for public service. FR. JOEPEL PADIT, RODEL E. RODIS, LOURDES TANCINCO ESQ, MELANDREW T. VELASCO, We instead ask that the FilAm community to again get together as they have done DANTES & CYNTHIA VELUZ, CRISTINA OSMENA, LUDY ONGKEKO. numerous times in the past to extend help to the victims of the worst storm to hit the COLUMNISTS The views and opinions expressed herein by writers, columnists and advertisers are their own and do not necesmotherland in recent years. sarily reflect those of the publisher, management and staff of Philippines Today. We are not responsible for Images of the victims available online are not only heartbreaking, they will haunt incorrect printing, photographical errors or information listed or for loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts. us for years to come. Reproduction or redistribution in whole or in part is prohibited. Our motherland needs us. Let us give until it hurts. Then let us give some more.
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A massive, unforgiveable failure
