As Covid-19 cases are expected to rise in the coming weeks, the Department of Health has asked the public anew to get vaccinated and for the fully vaccinated ones to have their booster shots if already eligible.
The Cordillera recorded a steady increase in the daily tally of Covid-19 cases in the first week of the year. As of Jan. 6, the region already recorded 93,569 cases of which 403 were logged from Jan. 1 to 5.
A total of 2,287 Covid-19-related deaths have been recorded since 2020.
DOH-Cordillera Assistant Director Amelita Pangilinan said the region’s case fatality rate is 2.44 percent, which is higher than the national rate which is 1.79 and the global rate, which is 1.84 percent.
Case fatality rate refers to the number of people who tested positive and died of the Covid-19.
While majority of the cases have mild symptoms with 260,154 are asymptomatic, and 15 cases under moderate condition, the 18 cases under critical condition remain a concern.
DOH Senior Health Program Officer Karen Lonogan said Covid-19 cases are expected to increase in the coming weeks, a trend that is expected every after holiday celebrations where social gatherings are rampant.
She added there is also a need for local government units to implement stricter border controls as a means of preventing transmission.
Lonogan said most of the index cases that caused clusters of cases noted in some areas in the region were due to travelers and those who went out of their towns and came back after the holidays.
Lonogan reiterated the need for the public to have their Covid-19 vaccines to lessen their risk of exposure to the virus that causes the infection and to lessen their risk of having severe conditions and hospitalization.
This is also to help prevent further mutations of the virus.
The DOH-Cordillera’s vaccination coverage as of Dec. 31, 2021 is 84 percent of the 70 percent eligible population.
Pangilinan said while the region reached the vaccination coverage, the DOH is hoping to increase the coverage as the main office issued an advisory that the government intends to achieve a 100 percent coverage of the country’s 111 million population.
As of Jan. 6, the DOH-Cordillera administered a total of 1,995,749 doses of which 946,035 are first doses and 957,172 are second doses.
Pangilinan said 50,818 booster doses have been administered so far in the region’s 311 vaccinations sites.
The DOH-Cordillera is hopeful it could increase the number of vaccinees considering the threat of the Omicron and another variant detected in France.
Lonogan said regardless of the variant, however, the threat of the virus that causes the Covid-19 infection is real and the public must remain cautious to prevent further transmission and mutation. – Jane B. Cadalig
April 30, 2024
