People infected with Covid-19 in the National Capital Region (NCR) are 60 percent less likely to be hospitalized compared to those in other areas due to the high vaccination rate in the region, a health official said Tuesday.

In an online media briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire noted that Covid-19 cases in Metro Manila surged during the holidays but most of them were not hospitalized.

Vergeire said decoupling is being observed in the NCR – a situation where an increase in infections does not translate to the same increase in the proportion of severe and critical cases.

“Dahil sa mataas na (Because of high) vaccination rate in the NCR, we are seeing two types of Covid-19 patients admitted in our hospitals – the patients admitted for Covid-19 and cases of incidental Covid-19),” she said.

Patients admitted for Covid-19 are individuals who tested positive for the disease upon admission while incidental Covid-19 cases are those who were admitted for other health conditions – acute appendicitis, acute coronary syndrome, cardiovascular disease infarct, intracranial hemorrhage, and trauma from vehicular crash – and eventually turned out positive.

Meantime, Inter-Agency Task Force Sub-Technical Working Group on Data Analytics member Dr. John Wong emphasized that NCR’s vaccination status is “protecting the area from high hospitalization rate”.

“What we are seeing in the NCR is that compared to during the Delta surge, we have 24 percent fewer hospitalizations, and compared to non-NCR regions, we have about 60 percent fewer hospitalizations,” Wong said.

“The difference is that back in July and September during the Delta surge, and compared to non-NCR regions, the NCR has much higher vaccination rate – I think 75 percent now, compared to 35 percent in non-NCR regions,” he added.

To date, about 54 percent of 1,100 ICU beds, 60 percent of 4,500 isolation beds, 64 percent of 4,400 ward beds, and 27 percent of 1,000 ventilators dedicated to patients with Covid-19 are in use in the NCR. (PNA)