By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter
THE GOVERNMENT will take delivery of a million more doses of coronavirus vaccines this week care of Japan, according to the presidential palace, in a boost to its vaccination drive.
About a million AstraZeneca doses donated by the Japanese government and 170,000 Sputnik V vaccines ordered from Russia would arrive this week, presidential spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. told a televised news briefing on Monday.
He said 11.7 million doses of coronavirus vaccines had been given out as of July 2, 8.8 million of which were first doses.
About 1.1 million health workers, 897,719 seniors and 788,630 seriously ill people have received their second doses. Mr. Roque said 26,109 essential workers and 227 indigent Filipinos have also been fully vaccinated.
About 57% of intensive care unit beds (ICU) in the country had been used as of July 4, while 46% of isolation beds and 44% of wards were occupied, he added
In the capital region, 46% of ICU beds were occupied, while 38% of isolation beds and 33% of ward beds were used.
The Department of Health (DoH) reported 5,392 coronavirus infections on Monday, bringing the total to 1,441,746.
The death toll rose to 25,192 after 43 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 6,477 to 1,364,960, it said in a bulletin.
There were 51,594 active cases, 91.1% of which were mild, 3.8% did not show symptoms, 1.5% were critical, 2.1% were severe and 1.57% were moderate.
The agency said 15 duplicates had been removed from the tally, nine of which were tagged as recoveries. Twenty recoveries were reclassified as deaths. Ten laboratories failed to submit data.
The government expects the Metro Manila to attain so-called population protection by November, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told a separate news briefing.
“Aside from having this certain percentage of vaccinated individuals, we need to ensure that enough seniors and people with comorbidities are vaccinated,” she said in mixed English and Filipino.
Health authorities last week said the Philippines was at low risk from the coronavirus after declining infections in the past two weeks.
Infection rates fell by 9% in the two weeks that ended on June 26, Health Director Alethea de Guzman said.
The average national daily attack rate — new cases divided by the population — stood at 5.42, within the moderate risk classification. An average of more than seven is considered high risk.
The daily infection tally increased slightly to 5,772 from June 24 to 30, from 5,638 from June 17 and 23, she said.
DoH flagged the Davao region, Western Visayas, Soccsksargen and Eastern Visayas for rising coronavirus infections.
The infection rate in the Davao region had more than doubled in the past two weeks, while the rate in Western Visayas was 63%, 67% in Soccsksargen and 118% in Eastern Visayas.
The daily attack rate in the Davao region was 9.14, 8.12 in Western Visayas, 7.1 in Soccsksargen and 7.05 in Eastern Visayas, she said.
Coronavirus cases in Metro Manila fell by 26% from June 13 to 26, while its average daily attack rate was at 5.01, which is considered low risk.
Infections in the capital region have plateaued after a slow decline in the past weeks. The average daily tally in the seven days ended June 30 stood at 694, from 686 a week earlier.
Coronavirus infections in Luzon have fallen except for the Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos and Mimaropa, the Health department said.
Cases in Eastern and Western Visayas were rising, while Central Visayas had experienced a plateau after a sharp decline. Infections in Mindanao have been falling except for the Davao region, where the trend is inconsistent.
The Philippines aims to inoculate at least 500,000 people daily in Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao to achieve herd immunity by Nov. 27.