Lovely Omac

THE NEW MODERN HERO OF THIS GENERATION

As people living in daily life, every day we faced difficulty including the battle with COVID-19.
But how about those front liners who are battling and facing the virus every day, to save ones
lives and to remove COVID-19 not just in our body but also in our country. Though in today’s
time, our country has now vaccines to cure and produce antibac for this virus. There are different
types of vaccines from different countries with different efficacy, but do this vaccines really
helped front liners?

Based on CNN Philippines, frontliners are honored as modern warrior last National Heroes’ Day
because of what they are doing with the health crisis we, Filipinos, are experiencing. Even
President Duterte are honored with the fronliners that we have, with the bravery and hard work
that they are pouring in our country. On the other hand, Vice President Leni Robredo are
honored with the heroes that we have in our country. She said that the contribution that these
frontliners have in our country were not put in vain and she added, “Lives within each of us.”
Furthermore, Senator “Kiko” Pangilinan added to pay frontliners their dues, including their
hezard pay, to reward them with the hardwork they are giving in our country. But do all these
matter?

According to Philippine World Health Organization Special Initiative for Mental Health,
Filipinos that were suffer from poor mental health are around 3.6 million lately. With that, Dr.
Beverly Ho, Director of the Health Promotion Bureau of the Department of Health (DOH)
said that DOH must aim to also look beyond what frontliners needs, specifically their mental
health. By giving that, that means they must also prioritize the needs of the frontliners
including financial needs. Moreover, with what frontliners are doing now with the country,
they should be put to history textbooks when talking about COVID-19.

For today’s time, the country has logged over 220,000 cases of COVID-19, with thousands of
healthcare workers and frontliners also getting infected with the virus. There are people that got
infected by COVID-19 for several times but still survive and did not take severe effect because
of the vaccine. As stated by GMA News on September 22, 2021, Dr. Jennifer Gaspar got
infected by COVID-19 for four times on April 2020 up to June 2021. For her first up to third
time of having the virus, she experienced low back pain, headache, chills, fever, body malaise,
and loss of taste and smell and even got to hospitalized but on her fourth time having the virus,
she got asymptomatic because of her first dose of vaccine.

Because of that, frontliners have an ally that protect themselves frorm the virus and also those
people that they are curing too. They established a bond between the frontliners and vaccines that
protects them and helps them with their duty. But for now, people must first admit that they need
to get vaccines in order to not get severe symptoms of COVID-19, they must conquer their fear
of the side effects of the vaccines and admit that they must take an action to protect themselves
from the virus. In that way, people can help frontliners to lessen their work and their duties
because the percentage of the people getting severe symptoms are slowly decreasing because of
the vaccines that they are giving to the people. The DOH also said that the long wait of the
people in the vaccines are finally over and that it is big help from the health workers since the
goal of COVAX Facility and DOH is to give at least 2 billion vaccines for the people.

But nevertheless, the government and those big people must be compassionate and let their
people whom they are governing to realize what is lacking to the society- on how to handle the
problem regarding COVID-19. In that way, people can realize what they must do in order to
have a COVID free environment. Bringing freedom to choose or decide to people can create
peace in the society, peace in terms of having self-realization that they must take vaccine in order
to help health workers protect themselves in the enemy that we cannot see. With that, health care
workers’ efforts and sacrifices with this battle will not be put in vain because finally, after years
of battling with this virus, we will win.

REFERENCE

Tan, L. 1 March 2021. PH rolls out COVID-19 vaccine drive with frontliners, gov't officials
taking first shots. Retrieved from https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/3/1/COVID-19-
vaccination-Philippines-PGH.html?fbclid=lwAR2
DOH. 4 March 2021. PHILIPPINES WELCOMES THE ARRIVAL OF COVID-19
VACCINES VIA COVAX FACILITY.

Retrieved from https://doh.gov.ph/doh-press-release/PHILIPPINES-WELCOMES-THE-

ARRIVAL-OF-COVID-19-VACCINES-VIA-COVAX-FACILITY

CNN Philippines Staff. 31 August 2020. COVID-19 frontliners honored as modern-day

warriors on National Heroes’ Day. Retrieved from
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/8/31/National-Heroes-Day-COVID-frontliners.html
PDRF. 30 Sept 2021. PDRF, experts address mental health issues of frontliners during
pandemic. Retrieved from https://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/pdrf-experts-address-
mental-health-issues-frontliners-during-pandemic