HERE’S ONE good news. Since March 6 of this year, no one in our country has died of COVID-19, according to the weekly bulletins of the Department of Health (DOH).
The last time DOH recorded COVID fatalities was about the six deaths from Feb. 20 to March 5. Since March 6, the COVID deaths reported were those of patients whose passing were belatedly recorded.
And yes, although there is a slight increase in the number of severe and critical cases, its level is a far cry from the past months of the peak of COVID.
This is good news because it is a sign that although severe COVID is still fatal, especially in the elderly and immunocompromised, it appears that the country’s defense against COVID is generally strong.
What the DOH should do is intensify the vaccination drive especially in areas that are still on Alert Level 2 – such as the provinces of Antique and Negros Occidental – because many people in those areas are not vaccinated. Together, all provinces, cities, and municipalities must be lowered to Alert Level 1 and finally be able to overcome the shadow of the pandemic.
Zero COVID deaths for over two months is a welcome indication that the country is indeed exiting from the COVID pandemic, and it also indicates the population immunity resulting from the vaccination campaign. It is time for an exit strategy, but the preparations for this should have begun months ago, not just now.
It is also time to start repairing our broken system for reporting deaths. There must be a much better and quicker way of processing all the necessary documents.
According to DOH, only 21.69 million people of the A1, A2, and A3 classified people in the country have gotten their primary doses. Of this 21.69 million, only 9.27 million have gotten their first booster, so that means about 12.42 million (A1, A2, A3) could be waiting for the bivalent booster.
And yes, COVID-19 vaccine primary doses and booster shot should remain free of charge to everyone in the country who wants them and avails them. Suggestions that people should be charged for getting jabbed with the vaccine shots now that COVID-19 is no longer a global public health emergency is just kind of iffy at the moment. Why? Because the acquisition and storage costs of those vaccines are subsidized, it is only appropriate that they remain free even if COVID-19 is no longer a global public health emergency.
