The Philippines is the worst place to be during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking for this month.
The report showed that the Philippines got a resilience score of 40.2, which is good for last place or 53rd among the nations ranked.
“Southeast Asian economies continue to populate the Ranking’s bottom rungs in September, with Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines the last five. While the region’s outbreak may have peaked, their export-reliant economies are still struggling from the hit,” Bloomberg said.
Bloomberg’s report is based on 12 indicators, including Covid-19 virus containment, overall mortality, quality of healthcare, vaccination coverage, the severity of lockdowns and restrictions, and progress on restarting travel and easing border curbs.
European countries topped the list, with Ireland securing a resilience score of 79.4 followed by Spain (78.2), Netherlands (76.4), Finland (76.1), and Denmark (75.3).
“Once the gold standard for virus containment, the Asia-Pacific is faltering in the era of vaccination. Not only are their strict measures less effective in the face of delta, former top rankers in the region are also grappling with how to reopen after such a long period of isolationist border curbs,” the Bloomberg report said.
The Palace said it was not surprised by the Philippines’ ranking in the Bloomberg report.
“We take note of Bloomberg’s latest Covid-19 Resilience Ranking report,” Roque said in a press statement. “We are not surprised that the Philippines, together with other Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam are at the bottom of the list while countries which topped the list are developed countries such as Ireland, Spain, Netherlands, Finland and Denmark.”
Roque acknowledged that Covid-19 vaccines are vital in the Philippines’ fight against the dreaded disease.
He, however, said the Philippines is a “classic case” of poor nations with lack of vaccine supplies because of rich countries’ supposed hoarding of the “life-saving” jabs.
