It must have happened while I was asleep, but what a wonderful surprise it was to turn on my TV set and hear the news that a vaccine has already been approved and being tested. And not only that, it was also announced that there are now seven types of them, and you can take your pick as to which you will try. Will choosing be a problem? Will you pick the ones from China when the malady came from in the first place? I hadn’t time to check which other countries have produced one, but I don’t think I’d recommended the Chinese one, even the disease actually came from them.
***
But it is wonderful to know that this early, the World Health Organization, or WHO has already declared that the donor fund for fighting the COVID 19 will be allocated for countries that cannot afford what must be a high price for it. So the poorest segments of communities worldwide may be able to avail of it, too. How soon will the implementation of the vaccination program begin? Since it is a vaccine, it should apply to those not yet infected. The ones who are already suffering from it need cure, as vaccination will be too late for them.
***
What about the President of the United States? He had been flaunting his lack of fear of the disease, and now he is, you might say, the Number One victim in the U.S.A. Well, other heads of state, like Boris Johnson of the U.K., had contracted it and survived, but, as reports have pointed out, he is younger than Mr. Trump, who has already gone joy-riding to show voters that he is good for another term. What about his first lady, Melania? Has she recovered already?
***
It was very encouraging news that enrollment in Bacolod schools have hit 98.4 percent and that classes have already started. I think it is a very good sign, not only of our parents and children’s appreciation for education, but also that they are now convinced that time will be safer for their children. I hope, though, that they will still observe the requirements for masks, as not even their teachers can determine which of those in the class come from families that had been stricken. As for the masks being an added expense, I hear that the President himself is ordering them for distribution to school children I hope he gets the washable type, though, for economic reasons.
***
A few days before he himself was stricken with the virus, US President Donald Trump blithely told people, “Don’t be afraid of the virus”. Now that he is a victim himself, isn’t he afraid? Reports say that several members of the White House staff have also been infected, and who could have been their source? I can just imagine how the people employed there are feeling, with their boss himself a carrier! At least our President was prudent enough to keep himself free of the virus and, thus, protecting his staff, too. He does not ride in a limousine with windows open and waving to crowds. I guess that is the only way Trump can campaign, as election day is less than a month away.
***
I congratulate our own Vice President Leni Robredo. Despite being virtually ignored by Malacañang, even for social events, she has managed to get a good rating from the public. Well, the people must be appreciative of whatever efforts she might have made to help, hence the ratings . I wish, though, that the President had given her a chance to do her part in the running of this country as she may have ideas to contribute, especially for the welfare of women. Anyway, she is a decent lady whom nobody could suspect of planning to sabotage his administration.
***
This is already the eight month of my “incarceration” when my only furlough day is Saturday when I join my nephews and nieces and their families for my “night out”, so I look forward to it every week. Mondays to Fridays, my eyes are glued to the TV following up news from around the world, and, of course from our country, too. Thank God for the telephone, and the cellphone, particularly, because through it, you can reach anyone, anywhere. Even during the times of strict quarantines, we could contact our loved ones under quarantine and cheer them up a bit. Is it true that incidences of the COVID are already “curving”? Dear Lord, please let it be so!
***
Meanwhile, I hope somebody from Escalante who knows my friend, Romeo, who is a therapist will do me a favor and ask him to contact me because he may have changed his phone number already, and there is someone to whom I have recommended him, who needs his services. Oh, he may even be in Bacolod as I understand he has quarters here. I will be very grateful for the favor.*
