GETTING VACCINATED. Photo shows a medical front-liner administering Covid-19 vaccine shot in this undated photo. Department of Health-Central Visayas chief pathologist and Visayas Covid-19 Vaccination Center spokesperson Dr. Mary Jean Loreche on Thursday (Aug. 12, 2021) said 95 percent of the Covid-19 deaths in Central Visayas were unvaccinated. (PNA photo by John Rey Saavedra)
CEBU CITY – About 95 percent of the mortalities due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) were unvaccinated, Department of Health Central Visayas (DOH-7) official said on Thursday.
Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, spokesperson of the Visayas Covid-19 Vaccination Operations Center (VVOC) and DOH-7 chief pathologist, said the health department recorded a total of 173 deaths, 88 reported in July and 85 as of Aug. 11.
In the daily VVOC briefing, Loreche said these fatalities entered the hospitals after suffering from severe to critical illness after contracting the virus and died while under hospital care.
She said nine out of the 173 deaths were vaccinated but had comorbidities.
“This only means that if you are fully vaccinated, you are protected, that if you enter an ICU (intensive care unit) after contracting coronavirus, the chance that you will fully recover is very high,” Loreche said.
Data showed “fully vaccinated individuals infected with coronavirus have as high as 98.3 percent chance of survival in the hospital”, she added.
The DOH-7 official, however, said even those who are considered fully vaccinated are mandated to still observe the minimum public health protocols, especially the wearing of protective masks and shields to avoid infection.
Fully vaccinated people, she said, can still get infected with coronavirus but have reduced chances of falling severely to critically ill.
She reported that so far, the region has received 2.2 million doses of six different brands of vaccines. (PNA)
