Alert Level 1 should only be imposed if 70% of Luzon is already vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a public health expert, with 50% for the Visayas and Mindanao areas.
"Ang pinakaligtas diyan will be 70% kahit yung Luzon area kasi yung Luzon area, yan ang area na may malaking business tayo," Dr. Tony Leachon told DZRH in an interview.
(The safest here is 70% for the Luzon area because we have a lot of big businesses in Luzon.)
The expert said that while the National Capital Region has a high vaccination rate of 97%, surrounding provinces have yet to catch up, especially Visayas and Mindanao areas.
"Sa mga VisMin area kasi 30% lang ang average. Ang mataas lang is Luzon, Region 1, Region 2, at Cordillera Administrative Region. Mataas din sa Calabarzon at Central Luzon, nag-average ng 40% to 50%," he explained.
(In VisMin, we only have a 30% average. It is only high in Luzon, Region 1, Region 2, and Cordillera Administrative Region. Calabarzon and Central Luzon also have high averages, from 40% to 50%.)
But to make it safer for the country to transition to a lower alert level, Calabarzon and Central Luzon should match NCR's 97% with at least 70%, while the VisMin regions should reach 50%.
"Ngayon yung VisMin, mapa-50% lang natin yung VisMin, sakin ang laking tagumpay na yan kasi ang hirap mag-deploy ng bakuna sa countryside," he said.
(Now for VisMin, we just need to reach 50% in VisMin and that is already a huge success because it is hard to deploy the vaccines in the countryside.)
Åccording to Leachon, it is better for the country to remain in Alert Level 2 for the remainder of December amid the threat of the Omicron variant in order to focus on vaccinations.
"Ako pabor po ako dun sa sinabi ni Dr. Ted Herbosa at ni Secretary [Francisco] Duque na i-maintain muna natin 'yung Alert Level 2 sa buong Disyembre habang pine-prepare natin ang population for vaccination and booster doses," he said.
(I am in favor of what Dr. Ted Herbosa and Secretary Duque said to maintain Alert Level 2 for the entire December while we prepare the population for vaccination and booster doses.)
The entire country is currently under Alert Level 2, with more people out on the streets as restrictions eased despite the threat of the Omicron variant. The move is attributed to the decreasing number of COVID-19 cases and the increasing number of vaccinated individuals.
