COVID-19 infections nearing 900,000; 15,447 deaths — DoH

THE DEPARTMENT of Health (DoH) reported 8,122 coronavirus infections on Wednesday, bringing the total to 892,880.

The death toll rose by 162 to 15,447, while recoveries increased by 501 to 704,386, it said in a bulletin.

There were 173,047 active cases, 96.3% of which were mild, 2.4% did not show symptoms, 0.4% were critical, 0.5% were severe and 0.31% were moderate.

The agency traced the low tally to fewer testing outputs. “DoH continues to work with laboratories to ensure their continued operation and high testing output every day,” the agency said in a statement.

The Health department on April 2 reported the highest daily tally at 15,310 cases since the pandemic started last year.

DoH said 25 duplicates had been removed from the tally and 64 recovered cases were reclassified as deaths. Twelve laboratories failed to submit data on April 12.

About 10.2 million Filipinos have been tested for the coronavirus as of April 12, according to DoH’s tracker website.

The coronavirus has sickened about 138.1 million and killed three million people worldwide, according to the Worldometers website, citing various sources including data from the World Health Organization.

About 111.1 million people have recovered, it said.

Meanwhile, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire said 24,823 adverse events after immunization had been reported as of April 11.

About 7,000 non-serious adverse reactions and 164 serious adverse reactions had been reported by people who were given the Sinovac vaccine, she told an online news briefing.

She added that 17,503 minor and 206 serious adverse effects had been reported by people who got the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“All of these are being investigated,” Ms. Vergeire said.

Serious adverse events after vaccination refer to death or life-threatening situations, hospitalization and persistent disability.

Presidential spokesperson Herminio “Harry” L. Roque, Jr. on Monday said 1.13 million vaccines have been given out — 1 million for the first dose and more than 132,000 for a second shot.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday night said the country was facing a shortage of coronavirus vaccines due to global supply problems. He said rich countries were being prioritized for the vaccines.

The Philippines is aiming to vaccinate 70 million people this year after starting the rollout last month. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas