DOH: COVID-19 fatality rate lower in 2021 despite higher number of cases

UNPRECEDENTED Workers are finding themselves busier than ever at New Life Crematorium in Biñan City in Laguna, where families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 have to wait for at least two days to secure a slot. —RICHARD A. REYES (file photo)

MANILA, Philippines — The percentage of deaths among COVID-19 cases in the Philippines decreased in 2021 despite a three-fold increase in cases as the country ramps up vaccination, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday.

According to the DOH, the case fatality rate (CFR) in the country was at 1.47 percent so far in 2021 compared to 2.47 percent in 2020.

The DOH said it recorded a total of 472,205 COVID-19 cases in 2020, lower than the 1,929,711 total cases from January to September 21, 2021. The health department said this accounts for a 309 percent increase in cases in 2021 compared to last year.

Among all the regions, Metro Manila, which has the highest number of cases in 2021, had the lowest CFR at less than 1 percent, according to DOH.

DOH Undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire explained that the decrease in the national CFR was “multifactorial.”

“One of the factors that the Department is considering is the overall improvement of the country’s healthcare system over the past year and its ability to cope with the higher demand for clinical assessment, referral, and management of cases,” she said in a statement.

“The COVID-19 vaccination program also played a role in the decrease. Vaccines continue to provide the promised protection against more severe COVID-19 and deaths. Moreover, this was the effect of the strategies and behavioral-change campaigns implemented as early as August 2020 to mitigate the risk of transmission and slow down the spread of COVID-19,” she added.

Meanwhile, the DOH added that the CFR for senior citizens in 2021 was two times lower compared to 2020.

The DOH said the national government together with local government units should continue to increase vaccination coverage among the elderly to protect them from the severe form of COVID-19 which could lead to hospitalization and death.

As of Tuesday, a total of 37,074 patients have died out of the total 2.4 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country.

/MUF