THE Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday, September 22, reported a decrease in the 2021 case fatality rate (CFR) among coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases despite infections rising by three fold.
Data from the health department showed that the CFR of the Philippines in 2021 was at 1.47 percent, lower than last year’s 2.47 percent.
The DOH, meanwhile, recorded a total case count of 472,205 at the end of 2020 versus a total of 1,929,711 from January 1 to September 21, 2021, which accounts to a 309 percent increase in cases this year compared to last year.
It said that among all the regions in the country, the National Capital Region (NCR), which has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in 2021, had the lowest CFR at less than one percent.
“The decrease shown in the national case fatality rate was multifactorial. One of the factors that the Department is considering is the overall improvement of the country’s healthcare system over the past year and its ability to cope with the higher demand for clinical assessment, referral, and management of cases,” said DOH spokesperson Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
She said the Covid-19 vaccination program of the government also played a role in the decrease.
Vergeire assured that Covid-19 vaccines continue to provide the promised protection against more severe Covid-19, hospitalization and deaths.
“Moreover, this was the effect of the strategies and behavioral-change campaigns implemented as early as August 2020 to mitigate the risk of transmission and slow down the spread of Covid-19,” she added.
The DOH also said that the CFR among senior citizens in 2021 was two times lower compared to 2020.
It advised the local government units to continue to increase coverage among the A2 priority group to protect them from severe Covid-19 cases.
As of September 21, the DOH logged a total of 2,401,916 Covid-19 cases in the country, of which 171,142 are active, 2,193,700 have recovered, and 37,074 have died. (LMY/With PR)