The Dumaguete City Health Office has reported convincing proof that vaccinations work.
In a press release last Friday, the City Health Office reported that 74 of the 79 COVID-19 deaths (93.7 percent), recorded from May 1st (when the vaccination program was in full swing) until Oct. 20, were persons who were not vaccinated against the coronavirus.
City Health Officer Dr. Maria Sarah Talla told the City Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases that most of the five vaccinated individuals (6.3 percent) who died from COVID-19 were senior citizens and had comorbidities.
Mayor Felipe Remollo, chair of the IATF, urged the members of the public to register for vaccination through their barangay health center or via online, while the City has the supply of vaccines, and to actually get vaccinated when called for their schedule to save more lives.
About 43,621 City residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Oct. 22.
Records of the City Health Office also reveal that of the 111 deaths linked to COVID-19 (from Jan. 30, 2020 to Oct. 20, 2021) 83 of the fatalities are senior citizens, while 28 deaths were aged 21-59 years-old.
Of the 111 fatalities: 32 deaths were recorded from Jan. 30, 2020 to April 30, 2021 prior to the full rollout of vaccination; and 79 deaths were registered from May 1 to October 20 this year after the vaccination rollout.
Dumaguete City has a COVID-19 case fatality rate of 2.86 percent, which is lower in Central Visayas pegged at 3.91 percent.
Meanwhile, hospitals in metro Dumaguete continue to overflow with COVID-19 cases. Data as of Oct. 19 showed the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital at 113 percent, Negros Polymedic Hospital and Holy Child Hospital at 100 percent, and the Silliman University Medical Center at 98 percent. Ace Dumaguete Doctors Hospital was 113 percent occupied.
The admission figures complemented the ever-increasing new cases of COVID- 19 in the Province. Data from the Integrated Provincial Health Office showed that the active positive cases in the Province was at 2,212, with 30 new deaths as of Oct. 19.
However, the official figure released by the regional office of the Department of Health showed that the active positive cases in Negros Oriental as of Oct. 22 showed it at a much higher number of 3,085 cases, which made it the topnotcher among all provinces in Central Visayas.
The rising COVID 19 cases in Negros Oriental has led to the Province’s being placed under Alert Category 4.
Dr. Liland Estacion, Covid-19 incident commander of the Province’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, said Negros Oriental is now experiencing a “third wave” of infections, which is most likely the reason for the upgrading of the quarantine status.
Estacion noted a higher number of deaths due to CoViD-19 in the last few days, compared to the status of previous months. (with a report from Judy F. Partlow/PNA)
