AFTER the extensive vaccination drive of the Angeles City Government led Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr., the number of Covid-19 cases in the city has declined to an average of only 10 cases per day.
According to Rafael Lazatin Memorial Medical Center (RLMMC) Chief Dr. Froilan Canlas, the average figure is far from the double to triple-digit cases recorded per day when cases surged on August 15, hitting the peak of about 90 average daily infections.
RLMMC, formerly known as the Ospital Ning Angeles (ONA), is the city’s Covid-19 center.
Canlas said that for two weeks now, the improvised tent for Covid-19 patients is empty.
“Lahat ng pasyente nasa isolation rooms. Maluwag na maluwag kami. Pati mga health workers hindi toxic,” he said.
Canlas said the main driver that led to the decrease in the number of
cases is the extensive vaccination drive of the Angeles City Government.
“Definitely, Covid-19 vaccines helped. Mayor Lazatin’s Chief Adviser IC Calaguas has mobilized all City Government units to take part in this extensive endeavor because the goal is to vaccinate as many as we can as fast as we can. In fact, at one point we vaccinated almost 10,000 individuals in one day,” Canlas said.
Canlas also explained there is still a chance of acquiring the virus even after being vaccinated, just like the other existing vaccines, but are usually asymptomatic and mild in nature.
But he said Covid-19 vaccines are very effective against getting the patients hospitalized or dying.
Since most of the patients being recorded for Covid were already vaccinated, Canlas said they were recommended for facility isolation.
After almost two years of facing the pandemic, Angeles City has learned how to contain a surge — from detection, isolation, and treatment of cases, with ready facilities, hospital structures, and referral centers to cater to all spectrum of Covid cases from the asymptomatic to the critical cases.
“In short, magaling na tayo sa handling ng Covid ngayon precisely because we now know a lot about it,” Canlas said.
To date, 255,235 Angeleños got their first dose of vaccines while 177,571 are fully vaccinated.
Canlas also shared that during the surge in Covid-19 cases, the Angeles City Government has been supportive in terms of resources and supplies for the hospital.
Canlas is a doctor of Internal Medicine and has been practicing medicine for 26 years.