Bicol low vax statistics due to LGUs reporting

By Mar S. Arguelles

The Department of Health (DOH) in Bicol admitted recently that the low Covid-19 vaccination statistics where the region placed second to the last among other regions in the country may be attributed to reporting and operational issues in various local government units (LGUs).

Dr. Jannnish Alcala-Arellano, officer-in-charge (OIC) of the DOH Bicol Local Health Support Division, in a news briefing, confirmed that despite the availability of Covid-19 vaccination, LGUs have either had been late in reporting or had been slow in implementing their vaccination program.

She said LGUs late reporting affected the agency reporting system due to the difficulties in consolidating reports.

Arellano said the reports are done by health workers who are doing “multi-tasking” work, saying “currently health workers are doing dual functions such as attending to Covid-19 patients and performing reporting jobs.”

She said because of these glitches, they have asked the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to assist the LGUs in fast-tracking the uploading and consolidation of reports by relieving health workers of the clerical works and employing non-health workers to do the reporting work.

Another issue to be addressed was the stubbornness, hesitance and refusal of villagers to be inoculated because of religious belief, while others are waiting for their preferred brand of vaccines.

DOH Bicol vaccine statistics indicate that as of Nov. 8 this year, some 945,784 individuals were completely vaccinated or 22 percent coverage.

Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal,in an interview recently, said that 70 percent of the city’s 209,000 target population have either received their first and second dose. He added that by December, the city could meet the herd Immunity target.

DOH tracker recorded 45,864 cumulative cases since March last year with 36,801 recoveries (80 percent) with 1,549 reported deaths.