MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday expressed optimism on its outlook for COVID-19 deaths, following its 11th place ranking in the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) list of leading causes of deaths.
“Ito ay isang magandang balita para sa’tin kasi noong mga nakaraang taon, especially in 2021, talagang nakita natin na ang COVID-19 deaths ay naging no. 3 cause of death dito sa ating bansa, ibig sabihin pag napupunta sa top 10 leading cause of death marami ang namamatay dahil sa sakit na yan,” said DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire.
(This is good news for us because in the past years, especially in 2021, we have seen that the number of COVID-19 deaths has become the third cause of death in our country, which means that when it goes to the top 10 leading causes of death, many people die because of that disease.)
“Pero ngayon, nakita natin na itong COVID deaths ay bumaba na, naging pang-11 na lang siya and that signifies na kakaunti na lang ang namamatay from COVID-19 sa ating bansa, and we are able to prevent already further deaths because of this disease,” she added.
(But now, we have seen that COVID deaths have decreased; it is now at 11th, which signifies that only a few people have died from COVID-19 in our country, and we can prevent further deaths.)
Vergeire referred to the PSA’s latest data on the 20 leading causes of death as of Oct. 31, 2022, where COVID-19 placed 11th.
The PSA recorded 13,883 deaths due to COVID-19, or 3.3 percent of the total registered deaths from January to September 2022. Of this, COVID-19 with the virus identified placed 11th with 9,749 cases, while deaths due to COVID-19 with the virus not identified accounted for 4,134 fatalities and placed 19th.
It can be recalled that COVID-19 was consistently in the top 10 leading causes, especially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, it should also be noted that COVID-19 placed 11th the month before PSA’s latest data, or as of September 30, 2022 — reflecting January to August 2022.
The latest numbers are higher since September and only recorded 8,963 deaths on registered deaths due to COVID-19 with the virus identified, while those with the virus not identified accounted for 3,809 only.
Every death is still a concern
But Vergeire, in the same forum, pressed the importance of continuing to be cautious about the country’s COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions.
“Kailangan tuloy tuloy pa rin ang ating vigilance tuloy tuloy na mapagmatiyag tayo at lagi tayong cautious para hindi tayo babalik sa dati nating estado kung saan tumataas ang mga kaso tumataas ang mga naadmit,” she said.
(Our vigilance is still needed, we will remain vigilant, and we will always be cautious so that we do not return to our previous state where cases are increasing admissions are increasing.)
She reiterated the importance of better preparation against the virus to ensure the country can prevent further surges in infections, hospital admissions, and deaths.
Leading causes of deaths now back to non-communicable diseases
Vergeire then noted that the top five leading causes of death are non-communicable diseases, reminiscent of the times before COVID-19.
In its latest data, the PSA listed ischaemic heart diseases as the number one leading cause of death, with a total of 77,173 deaths or 18.5 deaths, followed by cerebrovascular diseases with 42,890, or 10.3 percent of the total.
At third were neoplasms, more known as “cancer,” with 42,497 recorded cases or 10.2 percent of the total, then diabetes with 27,774 or 6.4 percent of the total, and hypertensive diseases at 23,971 or 5.7 percent of the total deaths.
“So ito pong top five leading causes of death ay all non-communicable diseases kaya po tayo ngayon very strong po ang programa ng kagawaran ng kalusugan sa ating healthy behaviors and healthy lifestyle para maturuan natin ang ating mga kababayan para maprevent and ma-avoid yung mga ganitong klaseng preventable naman na pwedeng ikamatay ng ating mga kababayan,” said Vergeire.
(So these top five leading causes of death are all non-communicable diseases, that’s why we are boosting our programs on healthy behaviors and healthy lifestyles so that we can educate our countrymen on how to prevent and avoid these kinds of diseases that can kill us.)