Philippines may re-introduce
controversial dengue vaccine
The Philippines is considering re-introducing a dengue
vaccine whose use was ceased because of links to
several deaths.
As reported in Reuters, as authorities battle to contain a
dengue outbreak that has killed more than 450 people this
year, the Philippines is considering re-introducing a
dengue vaccine whose use it halted because of links to
the deaths of several children.
Concerns over the dengue immunisation for nearly
734,000 children aged nine or older sparked two
congressional inquiries, a criminal investigation and a
sharp fall in the number of parents seeking routine
vaccinations for their children, the report continued.
If the government decided to revive the use of the vaccine
(Dengvaxia), it would be administered with “utmost
caution”, according to presidential spokesman Salvador
Panelo. “If Dengvaxia is proven effective to those who
already had dengue in the past, then its application to
these individuals will surely cause the decline of the
overall number of cases.”
Dengvaxia use was ceased in late 2017, when the
Philippines ordered the drug’s manufacturer to stop
selling, distributing and marketing when it was warned that
the vaccine could worsen the disease in some cases.
In March, the Department of Justice said it had found
probable cause to indict the manufacturer, and former and
current Philippine health officials, over 10 deaths it said
were linked to the use of Dengvaxia, which the
manufactuer has repeatedly said is safe and effective.
Panelo continued that the government would follow a
protocol set by the World Health Organization (WHO) for
all individuals to be screened before receiving the vaccine,
to determine if they have ever been exposed to the
infection. Any decision to start administering the vaccine
again would not affect cases against individuals involved
in the controversy, he added.
Hong Kong lawyers march in
silence to support anti-
government protesters
07 Aug 2019 05:31PM
Lawyers and members of the election committee's legal
sector hold a silent march in Hong Kong on Aug 7, 2019.
(Photo: AFP/Philip FONG)
HONG KONG: Hong Kong lawyers held a silent march on
Wednesday (Aug 7) in support of anti-government
protesters and to call on the government to safeguard the
independence of the city's department of justice.
Hundreds of lawyers dressed in black marched under the
scorching sun from the city's highest court to the justice
secretary's office.
Hong Kong has faced months of protests that began with
opposition to a now-suspended extradition Bill and
that have evolved into a direct challenge to the
government of embattled leader Carrie Lam.
The legal professionals - who usually
avoid demonstrations - have now marched twice since
early June.
They are backing the protest movement's demand for an
independent inquiry into law enforcement tactics but they
also said they were marching against politically motivated
prosecutions from the city's Department of Justice.
"I really dislike how this government uses scaremongering
and divisive tactics," senior counsel Anita Yip told AFP.
"They carry out prosecutions selectively ... How would
people still have confidence in the government?" she
added, referring to the perceived different treatment given
by police to protesters and their opponents, pro-
government thugs with suspected triad links.
Lawyers and members of the election committee's legal sector hold a silent
march against what they claim is political persecution by the Secretary for
Justice, and demanding an independent inquiry into the anti-extradition law
crisis. (Photo: AFP/Philip FONG)
The attorneys called for an independent inquiry to be held
to determine the causes of the crisis, independent of the
government and the police, said Solicitor John J Clancey.
"Secondly, we want a very independent prosecution
procedure (against protesters)," he added.
Hong Kong police have arrested more than 500 protesters
and charged dozens with rioting, which carries a maximum
10 years in jail.
But they have so far only arrested 19 men for last month's
attacks on democracy protesters that hospitalised 45
people, and only on the less serious charge of unlawful
assembly.
Hong Kong legislator Dennis Kwok said in Cantonese:
"We would like to tell all Hong Kong people, if you are
arrested or accused, the legal profession will not just stand
by."
A female lawyer who declined to be named said she was
marching "to make sure the government knows that within
the legal sector, we will not allow judicial independence to
be compromised by politics or pressure from the Chinese
government".
A group of unidentified government prosecutors published
an open letter last week accusing Secretary of Justice
Teresa Cheng of putting politics above legal principles.
"All we want is justice and all we want is consistency," said
prominent lawyer Kevin Yam, who also protested. "We
don't want to see thugs get away while the best of our
youth get prosecuted. We uphold the rule of law and we
ask for justice."
Hello, Love, Goodbye’ Earns P250 Million in
5 Days
Posted on August 5, 2019 by Admin // 0 Comments
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The romantic drama “Hello, Love, Goodbye” completed its opening weekend
run with an impressive box-office gross of P250,040,718.80 in 465 cinemas
nationwide. It currently ranks 3rd in 2019’s highest 5-day gross in the
Philippines with “Avengers: End Game” at no. 1 and “Spider-Man: Far From
Home” at no. 2 which raked P292.5 million from July 3 to 7 in 678 screens in
the country.
The Alden Richards-Kathryn Bernardo starrer is on its track to become the
second Filipino movie to surpass the P600 million mark after “The Hows of
Us” in 2018. The said film which was also directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina
and also starred Kathryn Bernardo registered a domestic earing of P601
million and worldwide earning of P915 million.
The film is set to premiere in Singapore, the Middle East, and other countries
this week
Senior high
students join
nationwide
earthquake drill
LAOAG CITY, June 23 (PIA) - - More than 500 senior high
students and faculty members of the Ilocos Norte National High
School actively participated in the National Simultaneous
Earthquake Drill (NSED) for second quarter on June 22.
Done quarterly, the activity aims to prepare the students and
academe staff for occurrence of earthquake in the province.
A siren signaled the start of the drill at 2:00 p.m. wherein students
performed the “duck, cover, and hold” stance.
In times of earthquake, students are practiced not to panic when
inside the classroom but advised to take cover under a table or
desk.
Officials and volunteers from Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine
Red Cross, and City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office
(CDRRMO) provided assistance in the medical and rescue
operations.
After the drill, INNHS attained a satisfactory rating for the active
and cautious conduct among the students and staff.
“Lumalaing dagiti estudyante ken dagiti responderda gapo ta
quarterly iti pinag ensayo dagiti ubbing. Makitatayo met nga
kapigsa dagitoy ubbing ken nunto man addanto iti ambulansya
dan kaya danton, very good da! (Gumagaling ang mga
estudyante at pati na rin ang mga respondent dahil sa quarterly
na pag-ensayo sa kanila. Nakita naman natin na aktibo ang mga
bata at kung mayroon na silang sariling ambulansya, kaya na nila.
Very good sila,” said Dr. Melvin Manuel, head of the CDRRMO.
Meanwhile, the school also takes pride on the immediate and
responsive action of the student-members of the Red Cross
Youth.
“Maganda talaga itong earthquake drill lalo na sa aming mga
active members. Nagkaroon din kami ng mga ganitong training na
lifesaver training para maging handa kami sa mga ganitong
insidente,” said Mark Dave Lorenzo, president of the said
organization
