86% of COVID-19 patients in PGH not vaccinated

Eighty-six percent of COVID-19 patients at the Philippine General Hospital are unvaccinated, its spokesman said Wednesday.

PGH spokesperson Dr. Jonas del Rosario said of the 154 patients with COVID-19 at the hospital, 86% are not vaccinated, 11% received their first dose, and 3% are fully inoculated.

He said the cases for unvaccinated patients are mostly moderate, while some were in severe and a few in critical condition.

Further, he said the hospital's occupancy for COVID-19 is also nearing 70%.

"We now have 154 patients out of the 225 beds," he told GMA News Online in a text message.

Earlier, Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said the country is studying the possibility of raising its target for COVID-19 vaccine coverage from 70% to 80% of its 109-million population amid the threat of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant.

Cabotaje said this proposal would mean that those under 18 years old would also be vaccinated against COVID-19. Currently, the vaccination program is only for individuals aged 18 and above due to the limited supply.

Two members of the Vaccine Expert Panel earlier said the country would likely need to increase its herd immunity target following local transmission of the Delta variant.

Health authorities have made clear, however, that vaccines still offer protection from severe infection, hospitalization, and death even against the Delta variant. —NB, GMA News