Philippines health groups say govt Covid-19 response ‘still not enough’

Filipinos use their smartphones while queueing for free vaccination against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) at San Andres Sports Complex in Manila, Philippines. - Reuters

MANILA, Sept 4 (Philippines Daily Inquirer/ANN): With health-care workers protesting the delayed release of their benefits amid “unspent or misspent” billion-peso funds, health professionals have coalesced into a unified front, calling out the government for its insufficient response to the Covid-19 pandemic after more than a year.

Dr. Antonio Dans, convener of Health Professionals Alliance Against Covid-19 (HPAAC), said he and his colleagues were not trying “to pick a fight” but had to speak out after the Philippine College of Emergency Medicine (PCEM) and 60 other alliances sounded the alarm.