THE decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country can be attributed to the increasing number of vaccinated Filipinos, the OCTA Research group of experts monitoring the coronavirus situation said yesterday.
The independent group also said it sees a high number of Filipinos now gaining protection from COVID-19.
“One of the immediate explanations (for the decrease) is we already have vaccinated many individuals. Aside from that, others who have been previously infected now carry antibodies,” OCTA fellow Guido David said in a radio interview.
“Because many people are already protected, there are only a few, who contract the virus,” he added.
He said the continued rise in the vaccination rate in the country, especially in Metro Manila, is a welcome development. “We might not have achieved herd immunity yet, but we’re nearing it already. We’ve achieved population protection in Metro Manila,” he said.
Records show that as of October 23, at least 25.6 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated, or about 33.21 percent of the country’s target population.
Aside from the growing vaccination rate, David said the momentum gained from the enhance community quarantine (ECQ) and modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) implemented weeks back helped.
“When we shifted into Alert Level 4, we sustained the downward trend,” he said. “We’ve yet to see a spike during Alert Level 3.”
For COVID-19 cases, OCTA said the country’s seven-day average in cases declined by 35 percent.
In the past seven days, the country averaged 4,500 cases daily compared to the 8,400 cases the previous week.
In Metro Manila, OCTA said, the seven-day average in cases declined by 43 percent. In the past seven days, Metro Manila averaged 996 cases per day, compared to the 1,762 cases the previous week.
Last week, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the country may be placed under the “low-risk” classification “very soon.”
Duque also said that Metro Manila, which is under Alert Level 3 until October 31, may already be deescalated to a lower alert level by December.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, chief of the National Task Force against COVID-19, said 50 highly-urbanized cities (HUCs) in the country are expected to administer 800,000 jabs daily to reach the government’s target of inoculating 77 million Filipinos with their first dose by November 30 and fully vaccinating them by the end of the year.
Galvez said that with the steady arrival of vaccine shipments, local government units (LGUs) must double their vaccination efforts. He said that instead of buying vaccines, LGUs can use their funds to hire more vaccinators, establish more vaccination sites, prepare for ancillary supplies, and invest on ultra-low temperature freezers.
NTF deputy chief and testing czar Vince Dizon said the NTF and the Department of Health has identified 50 HUCs outside Metro Manila that are prioritized in the government’s vaccine deployment, and they were tasked to reach 800,000 jabs a day to help reach the targets of inoculating 70 percent of the country’s target population with one dose by November 30, and fully vaccinating 70 percent of the country’s total population and by December 31.
He said these HUCs were chosen based on their capacity to inoculate larger populations as quickly as possible, store all types of vaccines, and their areas are economic centers that are essential in the reopening of their region’s economy.
The NTF said the country has so far received 94.678 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since March when the national vaccination program started, excluding 3 million doses of Sinovac expected to arrive on Sunday night.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III expressed hope that about 80 percent of frontline workers will be vaccinated by year end. The current rate is about 35 percent, he said.
“They gave us half a million vaccine doses for the construction and manufacturing industry workers,” he said.
DOH data showed 8.4 million frontline workers are fully vaccinated. The target for the A4 priority group is 35.5 million.
Bello also insisted that unvaccinated employees of restaurants, spas, and other similar industries in Metro Manila may be told to stop reporting to work and not get paid, despite the statement of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.
Bello said there are legal bases to prohibit employees of specific industries in Metro Manila from working.
“The employer may tell his employee that he cannot report to work as their requirement to operate is to have all employees vaccinated. Therefore, those unvaccinated cannot go to work,” said Bello.
“Now, if an employee cannot go to work and there is that ‘no work, no pay’ policy, in effect, the employee won’t be paid,” he added,
Guevarra on Saturday said employers may not compel their employees or staff members to get vaccinated as the law states that vaccination cards shall not be a mandatory requirement for employment.
Bello, told of Guevarra’s position, said, “With regards to this alert level in Metro Manila, we have an exemption since Metro Manila is under Alert Level 3. The restaurants, hotels, spas, barber shops were permitted to operate but only if their employees are fully vaccinated. If not, then they cannot operate,” he said.
But he reiterated that unvaccinated employees cannot be terminated by their employers for being unvaccinated. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
