COVID-19 cases in Philippines near 500,000 mark

MANILA, Philippines — The number of documented cases of COVID-19 in the country is now very close to half a million, as the Department of Health (DOH) reported 2,058 new infections yesterday.

The total COVID-19 caseload as of Jan. 16 was 498,691, of which 28,674 are active cases, the DOH reported.

Among the new cases are 406 patients who recovered and eight who died, bringing the tally of recoveries and fatalities to 460,133 and 9,884, respectively.

Data also showed that 92.4 percent of all the cases are mild or asymptomatic.

Among the areas with the biggest number of new cases, Cavite and Rizal provinces topped the list with 96 cases each, followed by Leyte with 93, Quezon City with 85 and Mountain Province with 84.

On the vaccine rollout, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said there will be a registry for all individuals targeted for inoculation against COVID-19.

Vergeire pointed out that part of the registry is an “assessment” of each recipient to determine if they can get the vaccine or not.

“If you are asking if we have to be healthy – of course, we have to be healthy. But definitely, the vaccine has proven to be safe, so there is nothing to worry about,” she said at a press briefing.

Part of the assessment is determining if a vaccinee has allergies.

Vergeire added that before inoculation, the “indications and contraindications of the vaccines” will be discussed with the recipients as part of the “informed consent” process.

“Just like the other medicines in the market, we also have to be guided when we are doing vaccination. We have to be prepared if ever there would be some reactions that will happen to our vaccine recipients,” she said.