Speed up COVID-19 vaccination amid early signs of surge — gov't adviser
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines needs to ramp up its vaccination efforts amid early signs of another surge in COVID-19 infections, an epidemiologist with the government’s inter-agency task force said Monday.
Dr. John Wong, a member of the IATF technical working group for data analytics, said there have been case increases since May 18 but the rises have not been sustained.
“If we look back longer to mid-February, that was the end of the Omicron wave so we had decreasing or flat cases. But this increase in cases over the past month is worrying because it shows that more transmission is taking place,” Wong said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.
The founder of health research firm EpiMetrics stressed the need for the government to accelerate the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations.
“Since mid-February, we’ve only increased about 6% in terms of vaccination rate. Only about 20% of eligible adults have boosters, and I think only 10% of children have had their vaccinations,” Wong said, adding that senior citizens and people with comorbidities need to be protected against the virus.
Over 69 million people in the country have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Of those who completed their primary series, only 13.8 million have gotten booster shots.
Wong also emphasized that the public should focus on factors that contribute to surges such as the virus, people’s behavior, and environment. He added that ventilation must be improved to keep virus transmission low.
Last week, the Department of Health reported that the daily average from May 16 to 22 was 173 COVID-19 cases, 9.9% higher than the cases logged in the previous week. It recently detected cases of the more transmissible sub-variants of Omicron such as BA.2.12.1 and BA.4.
Despite the increase in cases, Wong said the country is “still in a good place in terms of hospitalizations.”
The DOH has recorded more than 3.68 million COVID-19 infections since the pandemic started in 2020, with 60,455 deaths.
A new thread on the Philippines' vaccination program in 2021 in the government's revised objective to reach "population protection." Bookmark our COVID-19 and Vaccination Dashboard for the latest figures on the pandemic in the Philippines. — Main image: The STAR/Michael Varcas, file
The city government of Valenzuela City announces that it is temporarily suspending the use of Pfizer bivalent COVID-19 vaccines as they wait for more vaccine supplies.
ADVISORY: Pansamantalang inihinto ang pagbabakuna ng Pfizer bivalent COVID-19 vaccine sa Valenzuela habang naghihintay ng karagdagang supply. (????: Valenzuela LGU) pic.twitter.com/j4yO52jgMN
— PTVph (@PTVph) August 7, 2023
Pasig City government announces the schedule of COVID-19 vaccination in the city from July 15 until July 28.
It advises residents that first, second dose and first and 2nd booster shots are available on a first come, first serve basis in its designated vaccination sites.
Among the available vaccine brands is Sinovac for 6 years old and above. It adds that there are no Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines yet for residents age 12 and above.
Schedule ng Pagbabakuna sa Pasig City |07/25/2023-07/28/2023 | First Come, First Served Basis
— Pasig Info (@PasigInfo) July 24, 2023
Tingnan ang material para sa vaccination sites kung saan makakapagpa - 1st at 2nd dose, at 1st at 2nd booster shot; at kung ano ang mga dapat dalhin sa araw ng pagbabakuna
1/3 pic.twitter.com/yqKG0S41CM
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to lead the rollout of the bivalent COVID-19 vaccination at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City. — The STAR/Helen Flores
President Marcos will lead the launch of the bivalent COVID-19 vaccination at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City on Wednesday morning. (Photo courtesy of MPC pool) | @helenmflores pic.twitter.com/wbB2An7xgg
— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) June 21, 2023
The Department of Health reminds public that they can still avail of the COVID-19 booster and bivalent booster. It reposted an infographic that determines when it is best to get the first two boosters and the bivalent booster.
Senior citizens and frontline health workers may now get their second booster shots, particularly mRNA jabs such as Moderna and Pfizer, the Department of Health announces. — Gaea Katreena Cabico
- Latest
- Trending
