THE Davao City Government has now allowed the use of virgin coconut oil (VCO) for Covid-19 patients in the city's temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMF), but only for the volunteers.
Duterte-Carpio said on Monday, December 21, that the City Government had allowed the use of VCO as a food supplement in the city's TTMF after receiving supply from Cotabato-based TreeLife.
According to the mayor, the VCO was donated in a hope that it will help improve the condition of the Covid-19 patients.
The donated supply was immediately referred to the City Health Office, who is in-charge of distributing the food supplement to the city's TTMF, after ensuring that the product has been accredited by the Food and Drug Administration.
But the mayor emphasized that it will not be mandatory, and will only be given to "volunteer patients."
"Gihatag namo for voluntary use sa mga patients nato sa TTMF. So dili gyud siya mandatory nga i-take nila, but for voluntary use lang ang kadtong VCO na gihatag or gi-donate sa'to (We distributed it for voluntary use to our patients inside our TTMF. So it's not mandatory that all of them will take VCO but for voluntary use only)," Duterte-Carpio.
The mayor added that the patient will be informed on the dosage he or she will be taking.
She, however, is uncertain about the number of donated items and whether all TTMFs in the city will receive it.
Duterte-Carpio also clarified that the City Government is not endorsing its usage.
"Virgin coconut oil is not endorsed by the City Government of Davao. It is made available by a third-party to our patients dinha sa (in our) TTMF. It is accessible if gusto nila (if they want)," the mayor said.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) announced that after months of research, compounds from coconut oil and virgin coconut oil (VCO) have reduced the viral load of coronavirus count by 60 to 90 percent.
"The results are very promising, as not only does it show that the VCO, by itself, can destroy the virus, but it also has a key mechanism in upregulating the immune response against Covid-19. Indeed, we look forward to the results of clinical trials on the various uses of VCO as an adjunct for the treatment of Covid-19," Dr. Jaime C. Montoya, executive director of DOST's Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD), said in a statement on October 5.
In a statement, DOST also said researchers discovered that the compounds in coconut oil and VCO were "observed to improve cell survival."
"More experiments, however, are needed to determine whether higher concentrations of these compounds will further reduce the replication rate of the virus," the agency said.
The research, funded by DOST-PCHRD, was led by Dr. Fabian Dayrit of Ateneo De Manila University. The research team "sought to investigate if coconut oil compounds are effective antiviral agents to prevent or reduce Covid-19 infection, following reports of previous research that VCO compounds are effective at killing other viruses."
At present, the agency is also exploring the capability of VCO to upregulate the immune system.
"Results from these ongoing VCO clinical trials will determine whether VCO can be used as adjunct therapy for Covid-19 patients," the agency said.