Five hundred eighty-one local and international participants attended the inaugural offering of Public Health in the Time of COVID-19 and the New Normal, a 12-part webinar series for public health workers jointly organized by the UP College of Public Health (UP CPH) and the British Embassy Manila (BEM), last October 8, 2020. Spearheaded by the UP CPH Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics (DEB), this inaugural webinar carried the theme “COVID-19 in the Asia Pacific Region: Moving Forward Amidst Challenges in Public Health.”
The webinar kicked off with messages from UP CPH Dean Dr. Vicente Belizario, Jr. and Dr. Kevin Miles of the UK National Health Service Joint Unit. Talks were then given by Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, the World Health Organization Representative to the Philippines; Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire, Undersecretary of the Department of Health; and DEB Assistant Professor Angelica Anne Latorre.
Dr. Abeyasinghe exhorted all countries in the region, even those with no or few reported cases, to sustain capacity-building and be prepared for a possible new wave of COVID-19 cases. In anticipation of a safe, effective, and affordable vaccine, he also emphasized the importance of non-pharmaceutical interventions and strict observance of health protocols.
Dr. Vergeire discussed concerns regarding the spread of misinformation, particularly in social media, which are often inconsistent with surveillance data. She also stressed the importance of risk communication and evidence-based actions in the pandemic response. She also shared how the DOH implemented the Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic (CODE) strategy, a patient- and community-focused response strategy that aims to prevent, detect, isolate, test, and treat.
Finally, Assistant Professor Latorre highlighted how data analysis facilitates effective pandemic response since this process helps identify strengths and weaknesses of the system, fosters learning from past experiences, and promotes intersectoral action. She also recommended that testing strategies, community quarantines, and border entry policies be guided by data, specifically the number of newly detected cases in affected barangays and neighboring local government units, and results of cluster investigation in workplaces.
Reactions were subsequently given by Dr. Eleanor Galvez, Medical Adviser of the National Task Force Against COVID-19 and Professor Neil Squires, Director of Global Public Health at Public Health England. Dr. Galvez noted that recommendations should be considered alongside the current status of health professionals in the country while Professor Squires provided lessons learned on how similar action points were carried out in England.
Dr. John Robert Medina, DEB Assistant Professor, served as moderator for the session. The session was capped by closing remarks from Dr. Abubakar Asaad, Chair of DEB, who thanked all the speakers for their valuable insights, the UP CPH faculty and staff, and all local and international participants for making the webinar a success.
Succeeding webinars in this series will be on October 22 (“Amplifying Vaccine-Preventable Disease Control During the COVID-19 Pandemic”) and November 5 (“Double Trouble: Fighting (Hyper)Endemic Tuberculosis Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic”) to be led by the Department of Medical Microbiology. For further details on how to register for these upcoming webinars and to access the recording of the first webinar, please visit the UP CPH Facebook page: facebook.com/upcph.
Dr. John Robert Medina | Published in Healthscape Special COVID-19 Issue No. 18 (30 October 2020)
