UNLESS a place has fully vaccinated 70% of its total target population, and 80% of its senior citizens, then it may be ripe for a de-escalation from its present Alert Level 2 classification for Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
This vaccination parameter forms part of the consideration for de-escalation of areas under Alert Level 2 to Alert Level 1.
It may be recalled that the Inter Agency Task Force on the management of Emerging Infectious Diseases issued Resolution No. 163 which placed provinces, highly urbanized and independent component cities to their respective Alert Levels classification for COVID.
Recently however, the National COVID-19 Vaccination Operations Center issued Advisory No 140, which provided further guidance to the regional and local vaccination operation centers (R/LVOCs), Implementing Units and Vaccination Sites on the new vaccination parameters as part of the Alert Level System.
The new parameter considers the full vaccination of seventy percent (70%) of the total target population, and the vaccination coverage of 80% of its priority group A2 or its senior citizens.
According to the NVOC, covering 70% of the target population is equivalent to covering 80% of the total projected population.
In Bohol, where the target population is 1,106,085, vaccinating with two doses some 774,260 Boholanos can be a factor for the IATF to de-escalate its Alert level 2 classification for COVID management.
At present, vaccination teams have given complete vaccination to 644,326 Boholanos, according to the Bohol IATF in its COVID Vaccination Report March 4.
That would also mean fully vaccinating 129,934 Boholanos in the next 10 days to get a chance at getting Alert level 1 for COVID by March 16.
The IATF has made the declaration of new Alert Level Systems every 15 days.
The bigger problem with that goal of fully vaccinating 129,934 is that in the same March 4 BIATF report, Bohol has only about 88,323 vaccine doses left, if no vaccine delivery happens anytime in the next 10 days.
BIATF said Bohol has already received 1,449,142 doses of various vaccines from March 6, 2021 to March 4, 2022.
Of this, its vaccination teams have already administered 1,360, 814 doses, leaving some 88,000 spare vaccines in Bohol’s cold storage facilities.
Other than hitting 70% of its target population, another parameter for de-escalation is a vaccination coverage of 80% of its Priority Group A2: Senior Citizens target population.
Hitting 80% of the target population is equivalent to hitting 85% of the total age group population, NVOC said.
The national vaccine operations hub also explained that senior citizens who are reported under Individuals with Comorbidities, Workers in Essential Services, or Poor Population and Rest of the Adult Population, should be tagged under senior citizens, for clarity.
When a senior citizen however is included in essential health services, he would be retained as such.
With this added parameter, NVOC said it will utilize reports submitted by the LVOCs/LGUs in the
Vaccination Operations System (VORS) in analyzing the coverage required by the IATF to determine areas for de-escalation to Alert Level 1, so that LVOCs / LGUs are encouraged to review submitted reports especially on the Senior Citizens data.
As a validation system, the NVOC would also use the line list submitted to the Vaccine Administration System (VAS) to countercheck on the reports.
As such, LVOCs and LGUs needing re-categorization of reported data, are instructed to contact their nearest Centers for Health Development Regional Directors and data managers for assistance and approval. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)
