MANILA — The Department of Health said Wednesday it was expecting to record more severe or critical cases in areas with low vaccination rates.

“Hindi pantay-pantay ang ating bakunahan sa mga regions. That’s very critical pag diyan pumutok ang pagtaas ng kaso, marami ang ie-expect natin na maging severe or critical lalo na kung maraming vulnerable sa populasyon na 'yan,” health spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

(The vaccination rate in the regions is not the same. That's very critical if the explosion of cases happens there. We expect many COVID-19 patients there to suffer from a severe or critical case, especially if the areas have a vulnerable population.)

Vergeire said in a virtual forum that despite a 74.3% national vaccination rate, there are still some areas that have yet to reach 70% or worse, in the case of Bangsamoro, 50% of its target population.

The health official stressed that vaccines don’t promise complete immunity from the virus but rather prevent a patient from experiencing a severe case.

• Second COVID-19 booster shot useful for immunocompromised: doctor

Expert studies, however, have shown that immunity generated by vaccines also wanes over time, making booster shots necessary for those who have counted at least three months since getting their primary series.

Despite this, the DOH believes that with 74% of the target population already fully vaccinated against the disease, most people will get mild to moderate COVID.

• Adults urged to get booster shot before May polls: official

Independent research group OCTA agrees with observations by the DOH that 14 areas in several regions have seen a slight increase in the number of infections.

But OCTA fellow Guido David says these are most likely “statistical noise."

“Baka temporary increase lang or upticks. Pag makakita tayo ng additional data over the next week, puwedeng magbago ang pananaw namin. Pero sa ngayon it looks like mga upticks pa lang ito at hindi pa naman siya leading to a surge sa ngayon,” he said.

(That's probably a temporary increase or uptick. If we see additional data over the next week, our projections may change. But now it looks like these are just upticks in cases and will not lead to a surge.)

Both the DOH and OCTA say that while a positive growth rate has been recorded in these areas, the number of cases remains low, with some increasing by just one case.

• Average daily PH COVID-19 cases drop 12%

In fact, some areas have actually recorded zero new cases for the past few days.

“Sa Eastern Visayas, may mga lugar na dalawang linggo nang walang cases. Northern Samar, isang halimbawa lang 'yan. Batanes, almost 2 weeks na rin na walang new cases na narereport, or Sorgsogon. So medyo marami-rami naman 'yan,” David said.

(In Eastern Visayas, there are areas where no new recorded cases for already 2 weeks. One example is Northern Samar. Batanes also recorded zero cases for almost 2 weeks, or Sorsogon.)

Health authorities and experts remind the public to be proactive and follow existing measures in order to sustain the manageability of COVID-19 cases and prevent the possibility of another surge.

RELATED VIDEO:

Watch more News on iWantTFC