LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: AN ANALYSIS OF REGIONAL PHILIPPINE DATA AND COVID-19 OUTCOMES

Abstract

Variations in indicators which may affect COVID-19 outcomes exist among regions in the Philippines. These variations suggest that the impacts of the pandemic differ not only between countries but also within regions and local areas in a country. This study aims to investigate COVID-19 outcomes (case fatality rate or CFR, incidence rate and hospitalization rate) over time and their correlation with regional healthcare and population factors during different phases of the pandemic across the 17 regions of the Philippines. These outcomes were chosen because they are readily available from government data sources, and are simple to work with. We mark five 100-day time periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The COVID-19 dataset was based on data maintained by the Department of Health (DOH). Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient analysis was used to examine the link between COVID-19 outcomes region-specific indicators referring to population and access to health care resources. Despite their higher vaccination coverage, regions with greater access to health care resources may still be susceptible to future COVID-19 outbreaks due to their urban and densely populated nature. However, vaccines remain effective in reducing COVID-19 hospitalizations in these regions. Therefore,it is crucial to focus on increasing vaccination coverage in rural, underserved regions and implement targeted outbreak control measures in densely populated areas.