IMPORTANT JAB A woman receives her COVID-19 vaccine shot at Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu City as the government urges people to get vaccinated to contain the spread of infection. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — At least 85 percent of patients who died of COVID-19 related illnesses in different private hospitals in Cebu were unvaccinated, according to the Department of Health (DOH) in Central Visayas.
Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, regional chief pathologist, said 250 of 296 COVID-19 patients died from Aug. 1 to Aug. 21 without getting vaccinated against the coronavirus. At least 31 others (10 percent) were fully vaccinated while 15 (5 percent) had received their first dose.
The victims either died of COVID-19 infection or succumbed to complications of other diseases although they had tested positive for COVID-19.Loreche said the fatalities were recorded in private hospitals (under Levels 2 and 3, or those capable of handling critically ill patients) in Metro Cebu, but the patients came from different towns in Cebu.
“You will see that most of those who recently died are those unvaccinated. By coming up with statistical data from the ground, we will be able to convince our fellow citizens to get vaccinated,” she said at a briefing at the Visayas Vaccination Operations Center on Monday.
Protection
“It gives us that protection that somehow, if we do get COVID-19, we will not end up [suffering from] the severe form of illness,” she added.
Loreche said they had yet to gather the data from public hospitals in Cebu.
While some had died despite being vaccinated, Loreche encouraged people to get inoculated because vaccines would save lives.
Data from the DOH showed that the entire island of Cebu had recorded 842 new deaths due to COVID-19 from Aug. 1 to Aug. 23.
Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, Emergency Operations Center deputy chief implementer, said resistance to vaccines had decreased in the past days.
“It’s no longer as bad as before. That is why I urge people, no matter what your schedule is, to drop everything and go to the vaccination site. That’s not an order. It’s your responsibility to your family and your loved ones,” he said.
‘High-risk’
This month, Cebu province logged the most number of COVID-19 deaths in Central Visayas at 492. It was followed by Cebu City with 192; Lapu-Lapu City, 102; and Mandaue City, 56.
Hospital occupancy throughout Cebu was classified as “high risk,” with more than 70 percent of COVID-19 dedicated hospital beds occupied as of Aug. 22.The biggest regional hospital, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, is also at high risk with 82.8 percent, or 192 out of 232 COVID-19 beds occupied.
As of Aug. 23, Cebu province logged 5,769 active cases of COVID-19; Cebu City with 4,664; Lapu-Lapu, 1,564; and Mandaue, 1,935.Cebu province remains under general community quarantine with heightened restrictions from Aug. 16 to Aug. 31, while the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu are under the stricter modified enhanced community quarantine.