BAGUIO CITY (PIA) – – The Department of Health reiterates that keeping the community safe is a shared responsibility.
Department of Health – Cordillera Assistant Regional Director Dr. Amelita Pangilinan reminded this again in a recent Kapihan media forum here, as she called on unvaccinated health workers, professionals and community leaders to set a good example and have themselves vaccinated.
With schools being the second home of children, she also encouraged teachers and school personnel to get themselves vaccinated. and for parents to bring their school children for vaccination.
Pangilinan stressed that vaccination and compliance to the basic health and safety protocols are vital in keeping COVID– 19 cases down.
COVID – 19 health indicators in the Cordillera region remain at low risk and daily new cases are at minimum since the Omicron surge last March., but the virus continues to be a threat especially with the lowering of restrictions and heightened mobility.
The public should not put their guards down by complying with the minimum public health standards, get vaccinated and boosted, she said
The DOH – CAR data shows that as of June 20, 2022, Cordillera is at low epidemic risk level with moderate 2 – week Growth Rate (2WGR) of 93 percent, low average daily attack rate (ADAR) of 0.31 and low utilization rates in terms of Health Care System and Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facility.
In terms of alert level, the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Kalinga and Mountain Province and the City of Baguio are under Alert Level 1.
Benguet and Ifugao remain under Alert Level 2 as they are yet to reach the required vaccination accomplishments, which are 70% of the target 80% of the general population and 70% of the target 85% of senior citizens’ population (based on the 2022 projected population of the Philippine Statistics Authority).
Only the municipalities of Buguias and Tublay in Benguet, and Kiangan, Lagawe, and Lamut in Ifugao have reached the required vaccination coverage, thus, are placed by the Inter Agency Task Force against COVID – 19 under alert level 1.
For Benguet, accomplishment on fully vaccinated population (5 years old and above) is at 62.40% and for senior citizens at 60.73%. For Ifugao, vaccinated population is at 54.14% and Priority A2 is at 70.60%.
Pangilinan shared that among the reasons for vaccine hesitancy both in Benguet and Ifugao include clinging in to wrong information, religious belief, and taking as model the unvaccinated professionals (such as doctors, health workers, lawyers and teachers) and local leaders in the community. **JDP/CCD-PIA CAR
