EU and WHO give lifesaving clinical grade oxygen to readiness against new COVID-19 variations

 10 December 2021 News discharge Manila

Agents from the European Union and the World Health Organization gave more than 200 oxygen concentrators and significant consumables to DOH Secretary Dr Francisco T. Duque III.

The gift – esteemed at over PHP 7 million – upholds pandemic readiness and the limit of wellbeing offices in the midst of the likely danger of new COVID-19 variations.

With the European Union's help, WHO Philippines had additionally recently disseminated 250 pre-filled oxygen chambers – esteemed at PHP 2.6 million – to 11 wellbeing offices in seven locales in the country.

"A couple of fights have been won as of now, yet the battle is still on! With our EU Member States, we have given more than 35 million COVID-19 antibody portions to the Philippines through the COVAX office and more dosages have been sent out from the EU to the Philippines. Presently we are satisfied that, through our monetary help, the WHO has quickly figured out how to give oxygen treatment to COVID-19 patients. This will help the absolute most weak people needing treatment, including older people impacted by other respiratory illnesses, pregnant ladies, and new-borns, particularly in the most distant spaces of the country. This will prompt saving more lives and a general reinforcing of the wellbeing framework", said H. E. Luc Véron, EU Ambassador to the Philippines.

The oxygen chambers were circulated to 11 wellbeing offices, to the extent Batanes General Hospital in the north and Zamboanga City Medical Center in the south. These items demonstrated generally gainful to emergency clinics that had revealed deficiencies of clinical grade oxygen due to strategic or creation issues. With this help, COVID-19 patients got dire lifesaving care.

Pre-filled oxygen chambers show up at the Zamboanga City Medical Center. © ZCMC

"Around 20% of COVID-19 patients will require oxygen treatment to forestall respiratory disappointment. Early and prepared admittance to clinical oxygen can have a significant effect to patients creating extreme COVID-19 and with serious COVID-19," says Dr Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO Representative to the Philippines. "WHO stays resolved to help the Department of Health to diminish the deficiency of lives through supporting development of access and accessibility of clinical oxygen, as the nation gets ready to manage arising variations of the infection like Omicron."

As of now, the Philippines has a few constraints and difficulties in oxygen creation and supply. There are just five significant clinical grade oxygen cryogenic plants in the country, which are privately owned businesses situated in Luzon Island. Around half of the DOH clinics the nation over – 34 out of 66 clinics – have their own oxygen creating plant, while the remainder of the wellbeing offices rely upon private wholesalers of clinical oxygen supplies, which might have restricted creation limits. Moreover, supplies like oxygen tanks, chambers, and concentrators must be imported, since the nation doesn't have any neighborhood producer of such supplies.

"The Zamboanga City Medical Center might want to communicate our sincerest appreciation to the EU and the WHO for their gift of oxygen tanks," said Dr Afdal B Kunting, Medical Center Chief II of ZCMC. "Having these tanks available permitted us to balance out our oxygen supply by having a cushion when the inventory was low. Many lives were saved due to this gift."

"The gift made by the EU through the WHO has assisted us with giving oxygen tanks to distinguished distraught regions where are no customary transportation of oxygen," said Dr Esterlina Tan, Chief of Hospital of Siargao Island Hospital.

"We are grateful to the WHO and European Union for giving these oxygen concentrators that will be disseminated to our emergency clinics around the Philippines. These provisions are fundamental in our COVID-19 reaction to give better wellbeing results to Filipinos. We are more certain that we can promptly react to the expected danger of the Omicron variation with this gift. Allow every one of us to cooperate to control the spread of COVID-19 by appropriately wearing veils, cleaning up, noticing physical removing, and guaranteeing legitimate ventilation. I likewise ask everybody to get immunized to get an extra insurance against COVID-19," said Health Secretary Dr Francisco T. Duque III.