THE Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday confirmed the detection of Omicron XBB and XBC subvariants of the Covid-19 virus in the country.
At a news briefing, DOH Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, however, stressed that despite the detection of the new subvariants, the country remains to be at low risk case classification and hospitalization rates remain manageable.
“Severe and critical cases and ICU admissions nationally now on a plateau,” she said.
Vergeire said 81 cases of XBB were detected in Western Visayas and Davao Region.
She added that 70 of these cases have already recovered, eight are still undergoing isolation, while the status of the three others is still being verified. None of them died.
XBC
Vergeire said that 193 cases of XBC variant were also recorded in the country.
Of these, Vergeire said 176 have recovered, three are still undergoing isolation, five patients have died, while the DOH is still verifying the condition of nine other patients.
She said XBC cases were detected in Cagayan Valley, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Caraga, Cordillera Administrative Region, and National Capital Region.
Severe illness
Vergeire said that there is still no substantial evidence if XBB could cause severe illness.
“Mula po sa Singapore Ministry of Health, wala pa pong sapat na ebidensya ang magpapatunay na nagdudulot ng mas malubhang sakit ang panibagong [XBB] subvariant na ito [According to the Singapore Ministry of Health, there is still no substantial evidence that XBB subvariant can cause severe illness],” she said.
Vergeire also said the DOH has yet to determine if there is community transmission of XBB and XBC cases in the country.
“ . . . Kasi wala pa tayong sapat na ebidensya [Because we don’t have enough evidence],” the DOH official said, adding, “What we can say right now, because there are this number of XBB and XBC, it’s part of the locally transmitted variants already in the country.”
Protection
“Fast-tracking vaccine deployment and ensuring adequate health system capacity shall minimize impact on admissions and health care utilization,” Vergeire said.
Vergeire said that layers of protection available remain to be effective against Covid-19 “regardless of its variants.”
“Practice of minimum public health standards — masking, physical distancing, good ventilation, and frequent handwashing — continues to protect us. However, with the potential increase in transmissibility of the VOCs [variants of concern], the likelihood of getting infected and passing on the virus during breaches in MPHS [minimum public health standards] practice increases as well,” she said.
While effectiveness of vaccines in preventing infection may wane due to the potentially immune-escape characteristics of the VOCs, Vergeire stressed that vaccines remain effective against preventing severe symptoms and deaths.
She advised the public to get their booster shots “as vaccines remain to be one of our major protective measures.”
“Vaccination continues to be effective and is still the best defense against severe and critical Covid-19, regardless of the variant. So long as there is transmission, new variants will naturally continue to emerge. Hence, to prevent the emergence of new variants, we must all work together to limit transmission,” she explained.
Vergeire assured the public that the DOH, along with other government agencies, continues to implement the four-door strategy against Covid-19.