A party-list lawmaker on Thursday said the use of COVID-19 experimental drug ivermectin in Barangay Matandang Balara in Quezon City has reduced virus infection cases there by more than half in less than a month.
Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor, who with Sagip Party-list Rep. Rolande Marcoleta distributed ivermectin to residents of the area last April 30, said the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team reported 138 cases the day before, or on April 29.
He said by May 22, or less than a month after the distribution, infection numbers were down to 59, or by 57.2 percent, he said.
Two days later, on May 24, cases further decreased to just 39, he said.
“The significant decline is a tremendous achievement in the fight against COVID-19 and further bolsters our appeal to undertake mass distribution of ivermectin to our people,” Defensor stressed.
The decrease in Matandang Balara is “far larger” than the 34.2-percent reduction in District 3, to which the barangay belongs, he added.
Defensor and Marcoleta have urged the Department of Health and the Department of Science and Technology to expedite clinical trials on ivermectin, which President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the two agencies to conduct.
“We could save many lives with the use of this wonder drug,” Defensor said.
Ivermectin is still not registered in the country for prevention or treatment of COVID-19. The Food and Drug Administration earlier gave six hospitals compassionate special permits to administer the anti-parasitic drug to coronavirus patients.
Earlier this month, the FDA announced it approved a company’s application to register ivermectin as an anti-nematode (roundworm) drug.
Still, Defensor and Marcoleta lamented that while they and other concerned citizens, including volunteer doctors and other health professionals, are helping communities fight COVID-19, other public officials in Quezon City are reportedly violating health protocols in distributing aid.
They cited last Tuesday’s distribution of food packs in Matandang Balara and last month’s P1,000 “ayuda” to qualified city residents, which they said might have been virus infection super-spreader events.
They blamed the Quezon City government for failing to enforce such protocols.
“The crisis the pandemic has brought us really requires the highest form of altruism, especially among public servants, to address the dire needs of the citizenry. But one must ensure that one’s good intentions do not unwittingly cause more harm,” they said.
“Gathering several thousand people to give them food assistance is a laudable intention, but the potential to spread the virus is also high. One should think of better ways to give the assistance in a much safer manner, without compromising the established health protocols,” they said.
They urged the Department of Interior and Local Government to crack down harder on violators of health measures, including local government units and public officers.
“We are afraid that without sending clear signals to those responsible, we will continue to see the rise in cases of COVID-19 and the policy of lockdowns will be a never ending cycle,” they said.
