MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) said daily COVID-19 case counts can reach as low as 70 by end-April, if people comply with the minimum public health standards, based on the agency's projections.
"If our scenarios follow the status quo- which means that we retain the current mobility patterns and keep complying with the minimum public health standards and vaccinations, by April 30, nationally, we will have daily cases of 70 to 268," DOH Undersecretary Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a mix of English and Tagalog during a virtual briefing Tuesday.
Related Stories
The health department logged an average of 389 infections per day from March 21 to 27.
If the public does not comply with health protocols, the daily COVID-19 case counts can go up to 670 by the end of April, according to Vergeire.
"If compliance to minimum public health standards go down, for example by 20%, our national daily cases will reach 670," she said.
Rosario explained the agency made its projections based on:
- The Omicron variant being twice as transmissible as Delta
- The country's current mobility status.
- The Omicron variant being the dominant strain in the country, as it comprises almost 100% of all COVID-19 cases
- The waning immunity of the primary series of the COVID-19 vaccines
- The projected vaccination rates
Vergeire emphasized that their estimates are "not cast in stone" as there are several risk factors which may take place in the future, such as the arrival of a new variant or a surge in cases in areas which do not have high vaccination rates.
Low interest in booster jabs
At present, some 11.8 million individuals have already received their booster doses, which leaves around 33 million people who have yet to get their third vaccine dose, based on statistics from the Health department.
On Tuesday, Vergeire said that many individuals who completed their primary vaccination series were hesitant to get their booster shots or their third dose, citing misinformation as one of the causes.
She added that some people were already contented with the primary vaccine series, believing there was no need to receive a third COVID-19 vaccine dose because they "were fully protected."
"We would just want to remind [that] even natural immunity wanes. Each person has a different [level] of natural immunity. Even protection from the vaccines wane because of these new variants, which is why our experts recommend booster doses," Vergeire said.
"We have the evidence. Our government bought [these boosters]. We just need to update that," she added.
READ: Booster shots aren't needed anymore? This view is 'misguided', says Palace