COVID-19 cases in Cebu, January 1-22, 2022: Most deaths  are unvaxxed

CEBU, Philippines —  Eighty-three out of 105 COVID patients who died from COVID-19 in Cebu from January 1 to 22, 2022 were unvaccinated, records from the Department of Health (DOH)-7 show.

Of this number, 66 died in DOH sentinel hospitals while 39 others died in private hospitals. Sentinel hospitals are those managed and supervised by DOH.  Of the 66 patients who died at sentinel hospitals, 56 were unvaccinated.

 “Fifty-six out of 66 or 85 percent is not something that we can joke about na konti lang naman sila… because one death is one life wasted,” said Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, chief pathologist of DOH-7.

Of the 39 patients who died at private hospitals, 27 were unvaccinated.

“In a matter of 22 days, 39 ka agad… 27 or 69 percent unvaccinated,” Loreche said.

 Cebu Province’s case fatality rate (CFR) is .39 percent, Cebu City’s fatality rate is .31 percent,

Lapu-Lapu City’s fatality rate is 0.07 percent, and Mandaue City’s fatality rate is .24 percent. Patients who were vaccinated but still died from COVID had comorbidities.

“Look at the percentage… meaning, the probability of you dying from COVID with no vaccine is higher, so why risk it?” Loreche said.

From August to December 2021, the number of COVID deaths in Cebu decreased steadily as vaccination increased. By January, however, a sudden rise in the number of deaths was noted alongside the sharp spike in COVID cases believed to be caused by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

Don’t underestimate Omicron

Loreche said the Omicron variant cannot be underestimated for being mild as there are still hundreds of patients admitted in hospitals.

 At least 104 are admitted in Cebu City, 334 in Cebu Province, 43 in Mandaue, and 13 in Lapu-Lapu.

“Even if sa breakdown of admissions maraming mild ngayon, hindi mo pwedeng i-conclude na hindi grabe ang Omicron variant,” Loreche said.

Preventing severe symptoms or even death is the reason why health experts and the government have been urging the public to get vaccinated and/or get their booster shot.

As of this writing, 66.18 percent of Metro Cebu’s eligible population is fully-vaccinated.

Broken down per local government unit, 59.83 percent of its eligible population is vaccinated in Cebu City, 78.53 percent in Mandaue, 72.47 percent in Lapu-Lapu, 72.25 in Consolacion, 73.21 percent in Talisay, 70.43 in Minglanilla, 65.94 percent in Naga, 49.02 percent in Liloan, and 54.25 in Cordova.

Metro Cebu LGUs have also been encouraged to accommodate vaccinees from other LGUs in Cebu Province for a borderless vaccination, to give more people access to vaccines.

At the National Capital Region, the Resbakuna sa Botika has kicked off.

Loreche hopes it will be replicated in Cebu and Region 7 to make vaccination more convenient and more accessible to the public.

 Sectoral vaccination is also being pushed, starting with the dialysis patients and those in the transport sector.--- JMO (FREEMAN)