The number of Covid-19 cases for Bulletin #914 was 88, down from 335 on the previous day. The low number reflects the significant reduction in testing given the imminent passing of Hurricane Fiona. The previous seven day average (confirmed lab-reported cases) was 310.
Nevertheless, the number of active cases is now at 882, down from 915, on the previous day, and 947 for the seven-day average.
The 24-hour positivity was 22.28%, down from the day before. The 4-week positivity rate is 5.10%, up from the day before.
The Ministry of Public Health recommends getting the third and fourth booster vaccines. The third booster is recommended for children from 12 years now that there have been outbreaks in private and public schools.
The fourth booster is available for those 18 years and older. The fourth booster can be applied four months after the third booster. It is recommended especially for those over 50 years of age and those with depressed immune systems.
The Pfizer vaccine is available for these boosters, but those who do not qualify to receive MRNA vaccines can get the Sinovac vaccine that is also available.
Vice President Raquel Peña, who coordinates the nation’s Health Cabinet, has said it is up to every person to take preventive measures and stay safe. She says the government has purchased fourth boosters for the entire population for collective health.
Except in hospitals, every day less people wear facial masks in the Dominican Republic. Nevertheless, in recent days, given a known common cold that is getting around, more people have been resorting back to their face masks as a preventive measure here to stay.
The Ministry of Public Health has free testing (antigen and PCR) stations, including one in the fourth-floor parking of Plaza Central on Av. Winston Churchill in Santo Domingo. Otherwise, expect to pay around RD$1,800 for an antigen lab test or around RD$500 for a home test.
The Dominican Republic has reached a kind of herd immunity regarding Covid-19. That is, sufficient number of people seem to have developed immunity from catching the disease, and sufficient number of people are fully vaccinated, resulting in very few Covid-19 deaths.
Most new cases are mild. Most tests being carried out at labs are antigen tests, an indication that most cases are similar to a cold and are being taken care of at home. The lethality rate is down again and is now at 0.68%, one of the lowest in the Americas, with 4,384 deaths.
There were no deaths reported for Bulletin #914. 27 people are hospitalized with Covid-19 and 2 are in ICU Covid-19 units, same as the day before.
As per Bulletin #914, with the deadline of 18 September 2022, the Ministry of Public Health has registered 644,446 PCR or antigen-confirmed cases since the first case on 1 March 2020.
First time Covid-19 lab tests were 395, reflecting the expected passing of Hurricane Fiona. The number of first-time lab tests compares with the 14-day average had been hovering around 1,414.
The record vaccinations for one day is 184,208 on 10 June 2021. For the 18 September 2022 dateline, Our World in Data reports 2,423 first and second dose vaccines were applied. The 7-day average is now at 2,452 vaccinations.
The Vacunate government website reports injecting 7,278,438 first doses of the vaccine and 6,041,572 second doses as of 18 September 2022 in a country with an adult population of 7.8 million. For the same 18 September 2022 bulletin deadline, the Ministry of Public Health is reporting that 2,457,614 people had received the third booster shot. The fourth booster shot is also available on demand. The government has ordered all with the first two shots to get the booster shot. The government began to vaccinate for the Covid-19 virus on 16 February 2021.
By global standards, the Dominican Republic has been relatively successful at treating Covid-19 and keeping the number of deaths low. For the 18 September 2022 deadline, Worldometer lists the 1M deaths per inhabitant rate for the Dominican Republic at 396. According to the same 1M deaths statistics, fewer people have died of Covid-19 in the Dominican Republic than in USA at 3,222, Brazil at 3,183, Italy at 2,931, Argentina at 2,822, the United Kingdom at 2,766, Colombia at 2,752, Spain at 2,434, France at 2,358, Germany 1,775 and Canada at 1,165, all major markets for Dominican tourism and countries with overall better health systems.
No Covid-related death is recorded for the 18 September 2022 deadline. No death was reported having occurred in the previous 24 hours of the deadline. As of the 18 September 2022 deadline, 4,384 persons are reported to have died of the disease in the Dominican Republic, a nation of more than 10.8 million adults since March 2020. The fatality rate has dropped to 0.68%. The fatality rate per 1M inhabitants is 419.58. Dominican physicians’ diverse treatment for the disease has been relatively successful in the region. The Ministry of Public Health reports that the country’s 419.58 fatality rate per 1M compares favorably to the average 1M inhabitants’ fatality rate for the Americas at 2,725.41, and the 396 for the Dominican Republic as of 18 September 2022.
The past seven days bulletin result highlights are:
Bulletin # 914: 644,446 confirmed cases, 88 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 882 active cases. 24-hour positivity is 22.28%. The 4-week positivity is 5.10%. No deaths are reported for the deadline. The fatality rate per 1M is 419.58.
Bulletin # 913: 644,356 confirmed cases, 335 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 915 active cases. 24-hour positivity is 22.77%. The 4-week positivity is 5.07%. No deaths are reported for the deadline. The fatality rate per 1M is 419.58.
Bulletin # 912: 644,016 confirmed cases, 341 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 721 active cases. 24-hour positivity is 22.82%. The 4-week positivity is 5.35%. No deaths are reported for the deadline. The fatality rate per 1M is 419.58.
Bulletin # 911: 643,674 confirmed cases, 224 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 752 active cases. 24-hour positivity is 21.27%. The 4-week positivity is 5.38%. No deaths are reported for the deadline. The fatality rate per 1M is 419.58.
Bulletin # 910: 643,450 confirmed cases, 305 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 731 active cases. 24-hour positivity is 21.62%. The 4-week positivity is 5.77%. No deaths are reported for the deadline. The fatality rate per 1M is 419.58.
Bulletin # 909: 643,145 confirmed cases, 319 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 1,389 active cases. 24-hour positivity is 21.94%. The 4-week positivity is 5.73%. No deaths are reported for the deadline. The fatality rate per 1M is 419.58.
Bulletin # 908: 642,825 confirmed cases, 409 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, 1,245 active cases. 24-hour positivity is 21.08%. The 4-week positivity is 5.88%. No deaths are reported for the deadline. The fatality rate per 1M is 419.58.
As per the 18 September 2022 deadline, the cases continue to be concentrated in Greater Santo Domingo and Santiago, the leading metropolis. There were 18 registered cases in the National District, 11 in Santo Domingo province, 9 in Santiago and Hermanas Mirabal, 7 in Duarte, 5 in San Pedro de Macoris, and 4 in Espaillat. There were 3 or less cases in 25 provinces.
Greater Santo Domingo leads in the number of reported PCR and antigen confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic. As of 18 September 2022 at 6pm, the deadline for Bulletin #914, the most confirmed cases have been reported in the National District (170,574) and the Santo Domingo province (131,187) that represents Greater Santo Domingo, with the country’s highest urban density. The numbers account for 47% of the 644,446 PCR and lab antigen confirmed cases nationwide.
Other province case totals are: Santiago (71,553), Puerto Plata (20,504), Espaillat (20,322), La Vega (20,108), La Altagracia (20,063), La Romana (19,015), San Cristóbal (17,725), Duarte (15,018), Valverde (12,693), San Pedro de Macoris (10,891), San Juan de la Maguana (10,096), Maria Trinidad Sánchez (8,326), Barahona (7,241), Hermanas Mirabal (7,034), Monseñor Nouel (6,864), Azua (6,689), Peravia (6,208), Sánchez Ramírez (6,196), Dajabón (5,884), Montecristi (5,463), Santiago Rodriguez (4,963), Monte Plata (4,763), Baoruco (3,972), Hato Mayor (3,846), San José de Ocoa (3,098), Independencia (2,756), El Seibo (2,320), Samaná (2,202), Pedernales (1,763) and Elías Piña (1,343) as of the 18 September 2022 deadline.
Haiti is reported having 33,721 confirmed cases and 857 deaths, as per the 18 September 2022 global epidemiological deadline. Haiti has a rate of 73 deaths per 1 million inhabitants. Haiti has progressed very slowly with its Covid-19 vaccination program. 358,905 Haitians (3.09%) of the population of around 11.5 million had received at least a first dose of the Spikevax (Moderna) vaccine at the 149 open vaccination centers. 221.645 Haitians are fully vaccinated (2 doses, 1.9% of the population) as of the 12 September 2022 update.
Already, hundreds of thousands of Haitians that live and work in the Dominican Republic have been vaccinated here. Most employers in the Dominican Republic have required their employees be vaccinated.
The Dominican government has authorized the vaccinating of Haitians with IDs and domicile in the Dominican Republic, but there is much resistance even among those living in the DR to get vaccinated.
Many ask for explanations regarding the low levels of deaths of Covid-19 in Haiti, a country with one of the lowest rates of Covid-19 vaccination in the world. Some attribute the low death toll and the low number of cases to a lack of reliable statistics. There is much truth there, but there is no hiding a surge in cases or deaths as has occurred in other countries. The reality may instead be that the generalized practice of vaccinating Haitians at birth with tuberculosis vaccine and the widespread use of Ivermectin have made the difference. Japan is another country with a very low mortality rate, also attributed to the practice of vaccinating children at birth with the tuberculosis vaccine.
Both generalized practices – tuberculosis vaccine and regular use of Ivermectin – – may be the explanation for the low death rates for Covid-19 in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, or throughout the island of Hispaniola. While not as prevalent as in Haiti, many Dominican pediatricians include the tuberculosis vaccine for babies in their list of inoculations for newborns. In border provinces, it is a regular practice. In the Dominican Republic Ivermectin was never included in the government list of treatments for Covid-19. The Dominican medical system adheres to US medical standards and big pharma has placed other treatments, many very costly, on the official list. The reality, though, is that Ivermectin since early on in 2020 became the most sought after over the counter treatment and one of the most prescribed by Dominican physicians for the virus for its availability, effectiveness and low cost.
Read more:
John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
University of Washington Health Data
University of Oxford Covid Tracker
Worldometer
Our World in Data
20 September 2022