CORONAVIRUS deaths in the Philippines topped 32,000 on Tuesday after 303 more people died, according to the Department of Health (DoH).
The death toll hit 32,264 or 1.7% of coronavirus infections that have climbed to 1.87 million, the agency said in a bulletin. Tuesday’s deaths included 161 people previously reported as having recovered from the illness.
It reported 12,067 more cases on Tuesday amid a fresh surge in infections caused by a more contagious Delta COVID-19 variant.
Recoveries also increased by 14,565 to 1.71 million. There were 127,703 active cases, 95.5% of which were mild, 1.7% did not show symptoms, 1.2% were severe, 0.93% were moderate and 0.6% were critical.
The agency said 22 duplicates had been removed from the tally, 15 of which were tagged as recoveries. Ten laboratories failed to submit data on Aug. 22.
Fredegusto P. David, a research fellow from the University of the Philippines OCTA Research Group, said active coronavirus cases in Metro Manila might go as high as 70,000 by next month if the infection rate continues.
He earlier said the virus reproduction rate in the capital region was 1.64.
He cited an improvement in the metro’s coronavirus situation after a two-week strict lockdown meant to contain a spike in infections.
Meanwhile, the Philippines would take delivery on Wednesday of more than 362,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer, Inc.
The government paid for the shipment, presidential spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. told a televised news briefing.
The Pfizer vaccine would become available in Philippine drugstores after it was fully approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, he said. The approval allows the two-dose shot to be used for people aged 16 and older.
Mr. Roque said the clearance would allow Philippine drug regulators to quickly approve the two-dose shot for local commercial use.
The Pfizer vaccine was among the most preferred shots by Filipinos, according to a poll by the Social Weather Stations in May. Six of 10 Filipinos preferred coronavirus vaccines made in the US, it added.
Meanwhile, Mr. Roque said about three million doses of the vaccine made by Sinovac Biotech Ltd. would arrive this week.
About 30.69 million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been given out as of Aug. 24, 14.49 million of which were first doses.
The country struggles to vaccinate its adult population amid a fresh surge in coronavirus infections believed to be triggered by the Delta variant from India.
Philippine health authorities on Monday reported 466 new cases of the Delta variant, bringing the total to 1,273. Of these, 442 were local cases, 14 were returning migrant Filipino workers and 10 cases were still being verified.
One patient was still active, eight have died, while 457 have recovered.
Ninety more people have been infected with the Alpha coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom, bringing the total to 2,322.
The agency said the country now had 2,588 cases of the Beta variant after 105 more Filipinos got infected with the virus first detected in South Africa.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire earlier said the Delta variant was now roaming freely in Metro Manila and Southern Tagalog, the country’s two most populous regions.
A community transmission occurs when there’s a clustering of cases that are not linked, she said, citing the World Health Organization.
Philippine Genome Center Executive Director Cynthia P. Saloma earlier said the Delta variant had become dominant.
Health workers have threatened to resign en masse as more hospitals get overwhelmed by a fresh surge in infections.
Meanwhile, Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo urged the government to increase its testing capacity to determine where community transmissions are.
In a virtual forum, she also renewed her call for the passage of a third stimulus measure that seeks to allot more than P400 billion for pandemic recovery programs.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte did not mention the bill, which is pending at a Senate committee, during his last address to Congress in July.
The local FDA last week approved the emergency use of the single-dose vaccine made by Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology.
Sputnik Light, a recombinant human adenovirus vaccine, was 79.4% effective against the coronavirus when it was first used in Russia in May.
It was given as part of Russia’s mass vaccination program from Dec. 2020 to April 2021, according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund. The single-dose vaccine must be stored at temperatures of 2-8 degrees Celsius.
The vaccine is different from the two-dose Sputnik V, which was approved for emergency use in the country in March. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza