DOH ramping up vax efforts in other regions in preparation for Omicron

The Department of Health (DOH) is ramping up the COVID-19 vaccination in regions with slow operations in preparation for a possible surge caused by the more transmissible Omicron variant.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the agency is anticipating a similar experience with the Delta variant, wherein cases in other regions surged two to three weeks after the increase in Metro Manila.

“We are currently ramping up vaccination, especially identifying itong mga areas na nakikita natin na medyo mabagal po ang pag-usad ng ating pagbabakuna,” she said in a radio interview.

(We are currently ramping up vaccination, especially identifying areas that are somewhat slow in their inoculation operations.)

“We are anticipating katulad ng nagkaroon tayo ng experience with Delta. Nauna po ang NCR but after two to three weeks, ‘yung ibang rehiyon ay nagsunod na rin ng pagtaas,” she later added.

(We are anticipating a similar experience with Delta. Cases in NCR increased first but after two to three weeks, case surge in other regions followed.)

According to Vergeire, cases in other regions have started to increase.

“We are doing a lot of demand generation activities para lang po mahikayat natin ang ating mga kababayan dito sa mga areas na ito,” she said.

(We are doing a lot of demand generation activities to encourage the public in these areas to get vaccinated.)

Vergeire said vaccination remains the most important defense against the COVID-19 pandemic, especially amid the threat of Omicron.

“Ito pong bakuna ang makakapagprotekta sa atin para hindi tayo ma-ospital, hindi tayo magkaroon ng severe infection, hindi tayo mamatay dito sa sakit na ito,” she said.

(The vaccine will be able to protect us so that we will not be hospitalized, we will not have a severe infection, and we will not succumb to COVID-19.)

Areas with low vax rates

Data from the DOH showed that 18 out of 99 areas under Alert Level 3 have less than 40% of their eligible population vaccinated against COVID-19.

Of these 18 areas, Lanao del Sur recorded the lowest with 9.78%, followed by Negros Oriental with 24.10%, and Cebu with 28.65%.

Meanwhile, Occidental Mindoro has the highest vaccination rate among the 18 areas at 39.80%, followed by Agusan del Sur at 39.17%, and Camarines Sur at 38.90%.

Other areas included in the list are Zamboanga del Sur, Northern Samar, Quezon Province, Camarines Norte, Bohol, Ifugao, Western Samar, Davao del Sur, Cotabato City, Negros Occidental, Antique, and Nueva Vizcaya.

At present, around 59 million individuals have received at least one dose while 55.5 million have been fully vaccinated against the illness.

More than 5.1 million have received booster shots.

On Monday, the country logged 37,070 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the nationwide tally to 3,242,374 and active cases to 290,938. —AOL/KG, GMA News