Mayor Benjamin Magalong has expressed alarm over the increase in death among unvaccinated and unboostered individuals in the city due to the Covid-19.
The City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) of the City Health Services Office revealed Covid-19 death incidents tripled from October to November and the fatalities were either unvaccinated or unboostered.
Data from the Baguio City Health Services Department and the University of the Philippines Baguio showed nine out of 10 Covid-19 deaths in Baguio from December 2021 to present were not vaccinated or did not receive supplementary shots.
Majority of the deaths belonged to the 50 years old and above age group.
Magalong said these data once again proved the importance of vaccines in preventing severe disease and deaths due to the Covid-19.
The UP Baguio and the CHSO data also showed in the proportion of cases who died by age and vaccination status, Covid-19 death is highest among those unvaccinated and unboostered.
“Vaccination really decreases the risk of hospitalization and death so please update your vaccination. Sapat dapat ang vaccines especially for persons with comorbidities and senior citizens who have higher risk of hospitalization and thus need updated booster shots,” the CESU said.
Magalong said the city has been experiencing a spike in Covid-19 cases in the past two weeks and this may be driven by the presence of the Omicron subvariant XBC, a recombinant of the Delta variant and Omicron BA5 subvariant. – Aileen P. Refuerzo
