Hello all! To those who don’t know me, Jeff Harvie from Down Under Visa. I’m a long-term resident of the Philippines, and an Australian Registered Migration Agent specializing in visas for Australian Filipina couples. I’ve been here with my family for the last 12 years. I’d like to share some great news about COVID-19 numbers in the Philippines and better overall health amongst the vaccinated.  

COVID and being Double-Vaccinated?

COVID-19 on its last legs!

Australia requires double-vaccination before anyone can enter Australia on a visa. The only exceptions are to those who have a certified medical reason why they can’t be vaccinated, and I suspect that’s not easy to establish. For 99.999…..% of people, you need to be double-vaccinated to enter Australia. Simple as that.  

Now why this post?

Went to the doctor yesterday. This is our regular family doc whom we’ve been seeing since arriving in 2010. Family doctor and family friend. And she said the most remarkable thing.

She said her practice was QUIET!

And she said all her doc friends said the same thing. QUIET!

Here’s what else…….

She is seeing NO new COVID cases at all. Colleagues tell her something similar. She is seeing almost no cases of the flu (influenza) or even other upper respiratory tract infections! Now, the weather lately changes from hot to cold to hot to cold, and it’s been raining. Perfect cough and cold weather. But slowest she or her colleagues have seen it ever.

Why?

The COVID vaccine!

It’s the only thing they can attribute it to. It’s not because of all the highly-disciplined Filipinos and their face masks! There has NEVER been strict adherence to this. You can trust us on that one! We used to drive around, and I could constantly point out those with no masks and those who would pull the mask down to talk to their mates.

Tuberculosis? I would have expected masks would have caused a huge drop in TB cases, but no. If everyone was a fanatical mask-wearer it would have been different. And obviously being double-vaccinated won’t prevent TB.

The only thing lower in this country is teen pregnancies! Teen pants are staying up, but masks are falling down! So basically it has little to do with masks. Not saying masks are ineffective, but they’re as reliable a wearing a condom half the time, or removing it half way through the act because it was getting in the way!  

Fear of being vaccinated and Australian visas

We don’t get as many anti-vaxxers as I would have expected. I’ll probably get a few responding to this post, but amongst our clients I’ve only had one or two who are adamant that they don’t want to be vaccinated.

What I can say is that I’m double-vaxxed and boostered. So is my wife. So are three of my older kids. All other adults (five) in our household are vaccinated. My daughter Remy (our office manager) and her husband. Five other people in her household. All of our office staff. All vaccinated. We’re all fine! Heads haven’t fallen off. No strange green glow emitting from us at night.

And actually? Thinking about it? No one is getting sick. The occasional cough and sniffles from some of the younger kids, but nothing from the vaccinated. So I do believe we can reflect our doctor’s positive observation. Nothing but good!

I hope that this will be something positive in the sea of conspiracy theories and un-researched, un-verified scaremongering out there.    

Jeff Harvie is a Registered Migration Agent from Australia, but resident in Philippines since 2010 with his Filipina wife Mila and large extended family. Experienced with the Philippines culture, cross-cultural relationships and bureaucracy as well as Australian visas and Australian Migration Law, he writes with authority and fortunately with enough informality and humour that the average Aussie gets it! Down Under Visa specialises in visas for Australians in relationships with ladies and gents from Philippines, Thailand, China and Vietnam. Read MORE