DOH: Omicron sub-variant not yet seen in Philippines
MANILA, Philippines — Health authorities in the Philippines have yet to detect a sub-lineage of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, which has been seen in other countries, the Department of Health said Monday.
“Until now, we have not yet detected any BA.2 sub-variant here in the country,” DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an interview with CNN Philippines.
According to Vergeire, the World Health Organization and other experts are still studying the latest version of Omicron, dubbed as BA.2.
“Based on initial findings and based on observing patients who have this kind of sub-variant, there is not much difference with Omicron as to the severity of illness,” she said, adding the WHO has yet to determine if the sub-lineage is a variant of interest or concern.
The sub-variant of the hyper-contagious Omicron has been detected in 40 countries, accounting for a majority of most recent cases in some nations including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, and India.
The UK Health Security Agency designated the BA.2 sub-lineage as a variant under investigation as cases of it were rising. The authority underlined that “there is still uncertainty around the significance of the changes to the viral genome.” — Gaea Katreena Cabico with report from Agence France-Presse
Follow this page for updates on the new COVID-19 variant, dubbed Omicron and originally detected in South Africa. Photo courtesy of the The STAR/Miguel de Guzman
The EU's drug regulator is expected to authorise the first Covid-19 vaccines for the Omicron variant, although they do not target the latest strains.
The adapted vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna will be discussed during an extraordinary meeting of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
European nations have been keen to rush through the new generation of jabs so they can start booster campaigns ahead of a feared Covid surge this winter.
The two so-called "bivalent" vaccines protect against the earlier BA.1 strain of Omicron, as well as the original Covid virus that emerged in China in 2019. — AFP
The Department of Health says an emerging Omicron subvariant, BA 2.75, had been detected in two individuals from Western Visayas.
The Department of Health confirms the detection of the COVID-19 Omicron subvariant BA.5 in the Philippines.
The DOH says two individuals from the same household in Central Luzon tested posiive with the subvariant.
Both patients have unknown exposure and have no travel history.
The first cases of Omicron BA.2.12.1 COVID-19 variant have been detected in the National Capital Region and Palawan, the Department of Health says.
The first two cases in NCR have both received their booster shot and are now tagged as asymptomatic and recovered after completing home isolation.
Meanwhile, 14 tourists and 1 local tested positive in Puerto Princesa City on April 29. All cases are now asymptomatic.
North Korea on Thursday confirms its first-ever case of Covid-19, with state media calling it a "severe national emergency incident" after more than two years of keeping the pandemic at bay.
The official KCNA news agency says the case was "consistent with" the virus' highly transmissible Omicron variant. — AFP
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