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Abreño's cooperation led to high Covid vax rate, low dengue cases

By Liza Agoot

August 4, 2022, 6:29 pm

<p class="western" lang="en-US">The provincial capitol building in Bangued, Abra. <em>(PNA file photo)</em></p>

The provincial capitol building in Bangued, Abra. (PNA file photo)

BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Health in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DOH-CAR) said the cooperation from the people of Abra contributed to the province's high coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination rate and the low cases of dengue.

“Dahil sa cooperation ng mga tao kaya performing well ang local government units in terms of prevention of diseases (The cooperation of the people allows the local government units to perform well in terms of diseases),” Dr. Rio Magpantay, DOH-CAR regional director, said on Thursday.

According to the DOH-CAR regional vaccination operations center (RVOC), Abra has a 117.97-percent accomplishment rate after having fully vaccinated 176,360 people against Covid-19. The region has a 94.73-percent accomplishment rate.

The province also has a 33.10-percent accomplishment rate for the additional vaccine compared to the 26.08 percent of the region; and 1.19-percent for the second booster shot, higher than the 1.54-percent regional accomplishment.

Among senior citizens, 117.80 percent of the 23,148 target elderly population have received the full dose; 39.83 percent have received the additional booster, and 1.79 percent have had their second booster shot.

Dengue

Meanwhile, statistics from the regional epidemiology and surveillance unit (RESU) showed that Abra is the only province in the region to record a decrease in dengue cases.

From January 1 to the end of July, only 37 cases have been recorded, which is a 67-percent decrease from the 115 cases during the same period in 2021. No deaths were logged during both years.

“This is a clear view of community involvement,” Magpantay said.

All other provinces in the region showed dengue cases exceeding the epidemic threshold level and above the alert threshold level.

Covid-19 vaccination

Magpantay said they are checking who among those seeking refuge in evacuation areas after the magnitude 7 earthquake last July 27 are still unvaccinated or have not yet received their booster shots.

“Tsine-check na rin natin sino pa sa mga nasa evacuation ang hindi nakapag pa bakuna (We are also checking who among those at the evacuation areas have not been vaccinated) and we will give them the vaccine or convince them to be boosted,” Magpantay said.

The DOH-CAR earlier launched the PinasLakas booster campaign in different provinces of the region.

The campaign, however, has yet to be rolled out in Abra due to last week's earthquake. (PNA)

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