DOH: Most hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Zambo unvaxed

Gov't sets February 10-11 to fast-track vaccination, lessen risk of serious symptoms

By Dominic Sanchez

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Feb 9 (PIA) – The Department of Health (DOH) here continuous to urge residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as data show unvaccinated persons are more likely to get hospitalized due to more serious symptoms.

“Majority of those currently admitted in the hospitals for COVID-19 are unvaccinated,” DOH regional director Dr. Joshua Brillantes said in an inter-agency meeting Monday (February 7). “This is science-based. The vaccines have been proven to give protection against COVID-19.”

To address this risk, another set of National Vaccination Days have been set on February 10-11. On these days, the DOH targets 169,764 jabs in Zamboanga Peninsula and will prioritize booster shots, unvaccinated senior citizens, persons with co-morbidities and members of the poor population. Residents are advised to know about vaccination centers in their areas via official pages of their local government units and in media channels.

Meanwhile, DOH-9 will begin vaccinating children aged 5-11 years old next week as soon as the vaccine supplies arrive, Dr. Brillantes added.

As per DOH data, out of a total 3,835,061 target population in the region, 1,756,619 or 45.80 percent are fully vaccinated. 2,034,291 persons have had their first dose only, while 120,076 already had booster shots; 1,800,770 persons remain totally unvaccinated.

“We also encourage residents to take the booster doses, since studies have shown that this will increase over-all protection against COVID-19,” Dr. Brillantes said. (RVC/DIS/PIA9-Zamboanga City)