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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Leachon raises concern over 'possible Covid-19 surge' due to Omicron subvariant, waning immunity

Leachon raises concern over 'possible Covid-19 surge' due to Omicron subvariant, waning immunity

Published Apr 4, 2022 03:22 pm

A health expert, on Monday, April 4, warned of a “possible” Covid-19 surge in the country amid the prevalence of the Omicron subvariant BA.2 or stealth Omicron and the waning vaccine immunity.

Health reform advocate and former special adviser of the National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 Dr. Anthony “Tony” Leachon expressed his concern over the “globally dominant” subvariant of the highly transmissible Omicron.

(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)

Enumerating different situations, Leachon said that BA.2 is currently causing Covid-19 surge abroad.

“Ito po ‘yung variant ngayon na nagc-cause ng surge sa Europe. sa Amerika ay tina-track down nila ang projection ng paglago subvariant. Siguro mga four days ago ay nag-cross na ng 50 percent by this time ay nasa above 60 percent. Ito ang ng Amerika kaya minadali nila ang pag-approve ng fourth dose (This is the variant that is causing surge in Europe. Meanwhile, in America, they are tracking the growth projection of this subvariant. Maybe four days ago it crossed 50 percent and by this time it is above 60 percent. This is what America fears so they rushed the approval of the fourth vaccine dose),” said Leachon in an interview over DZRH.

He likewise reported that South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia are experiencing a Covid-19 surge. Meanwhile, the Philippines, according to the expert, remained at risk due to the country’s low vaccination and booster rate.

“Dahil last quarter of 2021 bugso ng ating bakuna, magwe-wane ang immunity na ‘yun at dapat talaga tayong magpa-booster ngayon. Ngayon ay Abril na, kung ang ating bakuna ay good for six months ay baka mag-surge po tayo ng bandang June (Our big-time vaccination was in the last quarter of 2021, that immunity will wane and we should really get boosted now. We are currently in April, if our vaccine is good for six months, we might have a surge in June),” Leachon added.

He likewise underscored the importance of monitoring Covid-19 infections as the country recorded 690 new cases on Sunday, April 3, the country’s highest tally since March 7, 2022 based on the Department of Health’s (DOH) tracker.

“Dapat po bantayan natin . ay mag genomic surveillance tayo at tignan natin kung nakarating na ulit sa atin ang BA.2 nang sa gayon ay . Ngayon ang hospital ay mababa na, kaya lang huwag na nating hintayin na magkaroon tayo ng surge dahil sa waning immunity (We must monitor this BA.2. We should do a genomic surveillance and see if BA.2 has reached us again so that we can prepare. Currently, the number of cases in hospitals is low, but let us not wait for another surge due to waning immunity),” reiterated Leachon.

Related Tags

BA.2 SUBVARIANT BOOSTER waning immunity covid-19 omicron subvariant Dr. Tony Leachon
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