PHILIPPINES TO CONTINUE ASTRAZENECA VACCINATIONS AMID SUSPENSIONS IN EUROPE

MANILA - Philippine health authorities said on Friday they saw no reason to halt using the AstraZeneca vaccine in the country despite suspension of inoculations in Denmark, Norway and Iceland due to reports of blood clots.

"At present, the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration emphasize that there is no indication for the Philippines to stop rollout of AstraZeneca vaccines," the health ministry and the country's food and drug administration said in a joint statement, adding that benefits outweigh the risks.

The Philippines has so far received 525,600 doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX facility.

Health authorities in Denmark, Norway and Iceland on Thursday suspended the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine following reports of blood clots in some people who were vaccinated, while Austria stopped using a batch of shots while investigating a death.

Romanian authorities have also temporarily stopped vaccinating people with one batch of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as an "extreme precaution" while deaths in Italy are investigated, but are continuing to use other doses from the company.

WORLD BANK APPROVES US$500-M LOAN FOR PHILIPPINES' COVID-19 PANDEMIC RESPONSE

The World Bank has approved US$500 million in funding to support the Philippine government’s program to purchase and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, strengthen the country’s health systems, and overcome the impact of the pandemic especially on the poor and the most vulnerable.

In a press statement, the multilateral lender said the newly approved financing will support the Philippines to vaccinate the population based on vulnerability and risk.

Ndiamé Diop, World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, said procuring and administering vaccines provides the country "an added layer of defense against COVID-19 on top of public health measures or interventions like social distancing, wearing of masks, and washing hands."

“Inclusive deployment of vaccines in line with the World Health Organization Fair Allocation Framework is critical for preventing grave illness and deaths from COVID-19, opening the economy in earnest, ensuring a resilient recovery, and restoring jobs and incomes.”

Besides the purchase of vaccines, the additional financing will also support the Philippines to continue to implement public health measures until a majority of the population has been vaccinated or is deemed safe based on global evidence.

ADB APPROVES $400 MILLION LOAN TO HELP PH PURCHASE CORONAVIRUS VACCINES

MANILA - The Asian Development Bank said Friday it has approved a $400 million (P24 billion) loan to help the Philippines purchase COVID-19 vaccines.

The aid is part of ADB's Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX), the lender said in a statement.

Another $300 million (P14 billion) co-financing from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will support the project, the ADB said.

Together, the ADB and AIIB loans will fund procurement of up to 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for as much as 50 million Filipinos.

PH'S VACCINATION ROLLOUT RATE 'NOT AS QUICK AS WE WANTED'

MANILA — The pace of the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program is “not as quick” as what the government had wanted, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said on Thursday, more than a week since the country began rolling out the vaccines’ first doses.

Some 83,000 health personnel have been inoculated so far, according to Duque. Malacañang, meanwhile, said some 114,615 Filipinos have been vaccinated as of Wednesday, out of the government's 70 million target this year.

“The first week, I will admit, the vaccination rate was not as quick as we wanted it, but for obvious reasons. Siyempre nag-uumpisa pa lang (we have just started)" he explained.

"Pangalawa, mayroon pong option na makapili ang babakunahang healthcare workers. Kung ayaw sa Sinovac, binigyan po natin sila ng right of first refusal, at ‘yung AstraZeneca ibinigay para doon sa mga tumanggi,” he said.

He also said that the waiting time to observe adverse symptoms on inoculated individuals has taken much of the time during the vaccine rollout, when in fact the actual vaccination only takes less than an estimated 3 minutes.

Lacson chides slow pace of COVID-19 vaccine rollout

Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Friday said he is hoping the Department of Health would speed up its ongoing COVID-19 vaccination program, otherwise, the government’s target to inoculate 60-70 percent of its overall population will only be finished by year 2033.

Lacson based his statement on the DOH's recent vaccination statistics update where it reported a total of 114,615 individuals as of March 10.

"If we do not improve on this pace, and let’s all hope we will accelerate, we will finish vaccinating the 70 percent targeted population to achieve herd immunity in 11 years and 8 months or 2033," he said in a statement.

Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro on Friday expressed disappointment with the slow rollout of COVID-19 vaccines a year into the pandemic.

"The problem really is with the supply of the vaccine and the [national] government should, I think, it's imperative to address this problem of supply," he told ANC.

Teodoro was reacting to the statement of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III that the inoculation drive was not quick enough.

Over 114,000 people have so far received the shots more than a week after the country launched its vaccination program. Of those inoculated, 83,000 are health-care workers.

In Marikina City, Teodoro said they had listed nearly 5,000 medical frontliners for the vaccination.

"We're only able to inoculate around 1,500. So, that's not even half of the number of medical frontliners that we intended to be inoculated," he said.

SENATE BILL SEEKS MORE PROTECTIONS FOR WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE

MANILA — A senator this week filed a measure that would give women more protection against discrimination in the workplace.

Senate Bill No. 2093, filed by Sen. Joel Villanueva, expands the list of prohibited discriminatory acts against women under the labor code.

It also outlines the specific criminal penalties for employers who commit the outlawed discriminatory acts as well as anyone who aided and abetted them.

Specifically, the amendments to the Labor Code proposed by the senator would prohibit the following:

•           favoring a male employee over a female employee with respect to assignment and dismissal or retrenchment solely on account of their sexes

•           denying women the benefits of employment or statutory benefits by reason of their sex

Below are the discriminatory acts already banned under the Labor Code:

•           paying a female employee less than a male employee for work of equal value

•           favoring a man over a woman with respect to promotion, training opportunities, study and scholarship grants solely on account of their sexes

•           denying any female employee benefits provided for under the Labor Code or discharging any woman employee for the purpose of preventing her from enjoying any of the benefits provided under the same code

•           discharging women employees on account of pregnancy, or while on leave or in confinement due to pregnancy

•           discharging or refusing the admission of women employees upon returning to work for fear that they may again be pregnant

Employers who attempt or perpetrate any of the acts prohibited, "in addition to other penalties as may be provided by law, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of up to [P50,000]," the bill reads. It also stipulates that the fine must not be used as an impediment to a woman employee looking to file a civil suit for the payment of salaries or benefits that she is owed.

Any employees or persons who willfully aids or abets the prohibited discriminatory acts will also face the same liabilities as employers.

BEST VACCINE FOR SENIORS? DOH ASKED TO CLARIFY

MANILA — What is the best COVID-19 vaccine for senior citizens?

A party-list congressman raised this question to the Department of Health (DOH), following issues on the efficacy of China-manufactured CoronaVac by Sinovac and the United Kingdom’s vaccine AstraZeneca, the two available COVID-19 vaccines in the country so far.

Senior Citizens party-list Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes cited the need for DOH to be aggressive in explaining the matter to eliminate the hesitancy of the elderly to get vaccinated against the disease.

“The DOH should explain what the best vaccine choice for us senior citizens is, since they are the ones who are knowledgeable about it,” Ordanes said at Wednesday’s media forum in Congress.

PHILIPPINES, US SIGN P4.8 BILLION EDUCATIONAL AID

MANILA — The United States and the Department of Education (DepEd) have signed a new five-year bilateral assistance agreement, valued at more than P4.8 billion or $100 million, to improve basic education outcomes in the Philippines.

Through the agreement, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and DepEd continue and deepen their commitment to help children and out-of-school youth acquire the education and skills they need to succeed.

The agreement will advance the country’s efforts by increasing literacy rates, improving math competencies, enhancing social skills, improving second-chance education, employment and life skills for out-of-school youth and strengthening education governance.

BIDEN SLAMS 'VICIOUS' ATTACKS ON ASIAN AMERICANS DURING PANDEMIC

WASHINGTON, United States --  US President Joe Biden on Friday condemned what he called "vicious hate crimes" committed against Asian Americans since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, calling such acts "un-American" and demanding they stop.

"Too often, we've turned against one another," Biden said in his first primetime address, detailing the progress made in the fight against COVID-19.

The Democratic president decried "vicious hate crimes against Asian Americans who have been attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated" over the pandemic, which originated in China.

"At this very moment, so many of them, our fellow Americans -- they're on the front lines of this pandemic trying to save lives and still, still they're forced to live in fear for their lives just walking down streets in America," Biden said.

"It's wrong. It's un-American. And it must stop."

Activists say broader anti-Asian discrimination has been fuelled by talk of the "Chinese virus" from former president Donald Trump and others.

PRIVATE HOSPITALS COULD REACH FULL CAPACITY IN 3 WEEKS IF COVID SURGE CONTINUES: PHAP

MANILA - Private hospitals could reach full capacity within 3 to 4 weeks if the upward trend of COVID-19 cases continues, the president of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines said Friday.

The Philippines has been logging around 3,000 new cases daily for the past week, with Thursday's addition being the highest in a day since September last year.

The total number of coronavirus infections in the country is 607,048, according to latest numbers published by the Department of Health.

"If we don’t do anything about it, most probably it will follow the trend, maybe in the next 3-4 weeks, if this is not abated, then we will be reaching the full capacity in the next 4 weeks," PHAP president Dr. Jose Rene De Grano told ANC's Headstart.

Asked if he believes healthcare workers would have to call a timeout again soon, he said: "Hopefully not, but that can happen. With strict health protocols, we’ll be able to avoid that."

Curfews and localized lockdowns imposed in several areas in the country, including Metro Manila, would be helpful in a sense that it would "restrict movement for unnecessary things," he said.

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PARLADE STAYS, SAYS DND CHIEF

MANILA — Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has thumbed down the Senate’s recommendation to remove Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade from his post as spokesman for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

“The leader of the task force is the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP). We are involved there, so if you will remove Gen. Parlade, you will remove the Armed Forces there,” Lorenzana said.

Still, the DND chief said Parlade’s post is a very complicated issue, as the 1987 Constitution states that no active member of the AFP can be appointed or designated in any capacity to a civilian position.

Lorenzana does not agree with this view and said that Parlade’s designation as NTF-ELCAC spokesman does not violate the Constitution.

“Gen. Parlade is part of the AFP and so his expertise is being utilized as spokesman of the NTF-ELCAC so I don’t see any violation of the Constitution,” he added.

FDA TEAM OFF TO RUSSIA TO INSPECT VACCINE PLANT

MANILA — A team from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is flying to Russia to look into the vaccine manufacturing plant of Gamaleya Research Institute’s Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19.

“Two or three inspectors are scheduled to go to Russia next week to inspect the manufacturing site for conformance to good manufacturing practice (GMP) standards,” FDA director general Eric Domingo said yesterday.

Domingo said checking the manufacturing plant is necessary in determining whether or not the FDA will approve Gamelaya’s application for emergency use authority (EUA) for its vaccine, which the Philippine government considers purchasing.

“That is their (Gamaleya’s) major deficiency. There are other deficiencies but are just minor ones,” Domingo noted of the missing requirement in the application for EUA.

However, no member of the Task Group on Vaccine Evaluation and Screening (TG-VES) will take part in the inspection of the Russian plant.

Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara, who chairs the TG-VES, told The STAR that the inspection focusing on GMP is the FDA’s responsibility.

‘BE SMARTER THAN A SCAMMER’: BANKS WARN PUBLIC VS FRAUDULENT EMAILS, SMS ANEW

Two major banking firms recently cautioned their clients against  dubious emails and text messages seeking their personal information.

In an advisory last March 4, BDO Unibank said that it received reports of scam text messages and emails that send a supposed link of the banking firm’s supposed online login page, prompting their clients to send their account details.

“BE SMARTER THAN A SCAMMER. Do not enter your username and password. We will never send you links to our login page and ask for your account details,” read the advisory.

“Remember, the https:// in the url and the padlock icon don’t make a website legitimate. Real BDO web page address have ‘.bdo.com.ph’. Always look for the dot at the start. For example: online.bdo.com.ph, not onlinebdo.com.ph,” it added.

BDO also attached a graphic of the interface of the official BDO Digital Banking login page and the URL.

The bank then urged its clients to report to them any similar suspicious schemes and web pages.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

REINVENTING THE GRAMMYS: 'IT'S NOT PANDEMICKY,' PROMISES HOST

LOS ANGELES — The only sure bets about the Grammy Awards on Sunday are that it will not resemble the shows of past years, and it will not be a Zoom fest.

Postponed from January because of the coronavirus pandemic, the highest awards in the music business have had to rethink every aspect of a ceremony that is watched as much for its performances as for who takes home the prizes.

“Everything has to be reinvented,” said Melinda Newman, Billboard’s executive editor for the West Coast and Nashville.

“People do look to the Grammys for these special moments that they have created over the decades, whether it was Beyonce performing with Prince or Elton John and Eminem. I don’t know if you can do that during a pandemic,” Newman added.

Beyonce has a leading nine nominations this year but is not among the list of performers announced by the show’s new producers.

Album of the year contenders Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa, along with Cardi B, Billie Eilish, Miranda Lambert and Harry Styles, will be among the performers.

Some will be live, in venues in and around the downtown Los Angeles Convention Center, and some pre-recorded, but there will not be the usual red carpet or live audience of thousands of fans, musicians and industry executives.

Host Trevor Noah of “The Daily Show” says the three-hour telecast on CBS will be different from anything seen before at the Grammys.

“They have figured out how to make an awards show for the time as opposed to trying to crowbar an awards show into it,” he said last week.

“It’s not Zoom, it’s not pandemicky ... The bands are sort of going to be performing for each other,” Noah said.

Some of the awards will be presented by bartenders and others who work in music venues that have been crushed by the pandemic and the cancellations of tours and live concerts.

The wide range of nominees in the top four categories - album, record, song of the year, and best new artist - presages a night of suspense with winners hard to predict, particularly given the stunning snub of the Weeknd. Some 11,000 voting members of the Recording Academy choose the winners.

Few pundits expect any one artist to dominate in the way Eilish did in 2020, when the “Bad Guy” teen swept all four top awards.

Alex Suskind, a senior editor at Entertainment Weekly, said he was looking forward to seeing K-pop phenomenon BTS, along with rapper Megan Thee Stallion who is up for best new artist and record of the year for her “Savage” remix with Beyonce.

“No one has had a bigger year in music than Megan Thee Stallion. My guess is she will perform ‘WAP’ with Cardi B,” Suskind added, referring to the pair’s raunchy No. 1 single last summer.

BTS is up for its first major Grammy award, competing for best pop group performance with English language hit “Dynamite” against veterans like Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande for “Rain on Me,” Justin Bieber for “Intentions,” and Swift’s “Exile.”

“That’s a very tough category,” said Suskind. “I still don’t know if the Recording Academy has quite come around to K-pop despite it having made huge inroads in America.”

The Grammy Awards will be broadcast live on CBS television on Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

SPORTS

NBA SCORES MARCH 10

FINAL

           1          2          3          4          T

Wizards  14-21  26        36        23        27        112

Grizzlies  17-16 35        32        27        33        127

SCORING LEADERS

            B. Beal WAS

21 PTS, 3 REB, 5 AST

            J. Valanciunas MEM

29 PTS, 20 REB, 3 AST

FINAL

           1          2          3          4          T

Spurs  18-15     32        27        27        18        104

Mavericks  19-16           27        25        35        28        115

SCORING LEADERS

            D. DeRozan SA

30 PTS, 0 REB, 11 AST

            K. Porzingis DAL

28 PTS, 14 REB, 1 AST

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 48.50

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Let me make the superstitions of a nation and I care not who makes its laws. – Mark Twain