Filipino priest and cardiologist fights Covid-19 on two fronts

A Filipino priest has made it his mission to cater for the spiritual and medical wellbeing of his flock.

Father Jaime Roa, a Camillan priest and cardiologist, works as a doctor in Manila from Monday to Friday before seeing to his parish work in the city of Makati.

His parishioners frequently come to Roa for spiritual and medical attention but the the pandemic has made their need all the more pressing.

“I always tell them [patients] that what is important is our trust in the Lord. If we follow health protocols, what are you afraid of? It is more important if we have faith knowing that in spite of everything, God is always there,” Father Roa told La Croix International.

He is “blessed” to be both priest and doctor.

“After every encounter with a patient, they go home with a joyful heart because they are not only thinking of their physical body but they are also enlightened,” he continued.

The Philippine government, which plans to start its vaccination drive on 15th February, according to presidential spokesperson Harry L. Roque, is expected to receive 10 million doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines by the end of the second quarter.

The government’s vaccine tsar, Carlito A. Galvez, declared that they expect to vaccinate 70 million of its 108 million strong population by the end of the year.