Although the number of COVID-19 cases continues to decline in NCR Plus and nationwide, the Department of Health (DOH) has repeatedly warned that the threat of the virus remains.
In fact, according to a study by the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom), almost 1,300 out of 42,000 barangays in the country have multiple cases of the disease. From September 2020 to April 15, 2021, there was an average of 137 cases.
“The Commission on Population and Development has identified 1,272 barangays nationwide as having the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country, averaging 137 cases over an eight-month period,” they said.
Popcom’s recommendation, use what they did as the basis for the rollout of the vaccine in the country.
According to the OCTA Research Group, if vaccination is focused only on the population and not on the risk level of the region, the economic recovery from the pandemic may slow down.
Their suggestion is to allocate more doses of COVID-19 to NCR Plus, which is the center of infection in the Philippines.
DOH not in favor of allocating most vaccines to NCR Plus
“Hindi naman lahat ibubuhos sa NCR. Prioirity ang NCR pero mag-a-allocate tayo ng mga 70 percent sa NCR, Calabarzon and Central Luzon, another 10 percent sa Western Visayas, tapos 20 percent sa rest of the country. So ito ‘yung parang allocation based on risk,” said OCTA fellow Guido David.
David added that due to vaccine hesitancy, it is unlikely to achieve the target of herd immunity. It is more realistic to achieve the so-called herd containment before the end of the year, where only 50 percent should be injected, instead of 70 percent.
“Hindi natin makukuha ‘yung herd immunity dahil significant pa rin ‘yung vaccine hesitancy ‘tsaka hindi pa rin eligible ‘yung mga minor natin. So ang estimate natin para makuha ‘yung herd containment, mga 50 percent ng population mababakunahan… Attainable ito, depende kung gaano kabilis natin mabakunahan ‘yung buong population,” David explained.
But the DOH said it is not possible to allocate the majority of the vaccines to NCR plus.
“Tayo ay nakagawa na ng focused intervention sa NCR Plus Bubble at nakita naman natin na bumababa na ang mga kaso dito… Sa tingin po namin hindi po ito (pagbibigay ng mas maraming bakuna sa NCR Plus) posible dahil meron din po tayong kailangan bigyang pansin na ibang rehiyon sa ating bansa,” said Health spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire.
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