Pediatric COVID-19 Response in the Philippines

• Published in: Acta medica Philippina 2024, Vol.58 (7), p.10-11
• Main Author: Del Rosario, MD, Jose Jonas D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0001-6071; 2094-9278
• DOI: 10.47895/amp.v58i7.10249

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented global health crisis, affecting individuals of all ages. In thePhilippines, as we continue to combat the virus, we put focus on one particularly vulnerable group: our children.1 As weconfront the complexities of pediatric COVID-19 management, we provide insight into the response strategies establishedto protect the health of our youngest population. At the beginning of the pandemic, the Philippines undertook a comprehensive approach that encompassed travel restrictions,community interventions, robust risk communication, and rigorous testing procedures. These measures were implementedwith the overarching goal of mitigating the impact of COVID-19 and safeguarding the nation’s healthcare system.2 On March 30, 2020, the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) officially became the COVID-19 Referral Center inthe country. It has been more than four years since that fateful day when we had to brace ourselves for what was about tohappen. All of the departments, including the pediatrics department, had risen to the challenge with change in infrastructure,creation of clinical guidelines for COVID-19 management, formulation of infection control measures, and allocation ofprotective equipment and training for health workers.3 The PGH Transfer Command Center (TCC) was in-charge of triaging, decking, and admitting patients to thehospital.3 During the surges, the TCC was besieged with calls from desperate doctors and relatives with COVID-19 ofvarying severity – critical, severe, moderate, mild, and asymptomatic. Several projects and programs have sprung to help withthe pandemic. An algorithm was created at the time by the Class of 1991 UP College of Medicine, which was a quick,simple, complete, easy-to-understand guideline which navigate patients in their homes.4,5 Through a number of medicalprofessional volunteers, the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) COVID Gabay Program was launched to guide families via ateleconsultation platform.6 A community preventive approach included the promotion of mask-wearing, physical distancing, and hand hygiene,aligning with recommendations from global health organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) andthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).7,8 Locally, the Philippine Pediatric Society has issued a parentsCOVID-19 prevention guide to disease prevention, symptoms, home care, and breastfeeding9, and treatment guidelinesregarding the disease in children were formulated by