Amid the lowest ranking of the Philippines in the latest Bloomberg COVID-19 resiliency report, the Department of Health said they are doing their job in terms of the health sector’s response to the pandemic.
“Hindi po kami nagpapabaya sa ating response,” Health Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
Vergeire said that the recent assessment was done when the country was facing a huge surge in COVID-19 cases.
“Ang bawat bansa po may iba’t iba tayong konteksto. We cannot be compared to the United States, for example because even before the start of the pandemic, their health system robust na talaga ‘yan,” she said.
“We can’t compare an apple with an orange,” Vergeire later added.
The health official also said that not all countries were included in the Bloomberg resilience report.
The report noted: “While other Southeast Asian nations also continue to be ranked low among the 53 economies tracked, the Philippines fares among the worst on vaccine coverage, with just 26% of the population covered amid challenges in bringing shots to areas outside of the big cities.”
The top 5 countries in the resilience ranking are Ireland, Spain, UAE, Denmark and Finland.
“Sana po hindi tayo naapektuhan ng ganito. Focus lang tayo sa ginagawa natin sa ating bansa. Tuloy pa rin po ang gagawin nating response at mas paiigtingin pa rin po natin,” Vergeire said.
