The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday, March 22, reiterated that the P.3 variant is still not identified as a variant of concern.
"Sa ngayon wala pa tayo mabibigay na datos tungkol diyan dahil hindi pa natin yan kinukunsidera na variant of concern dito sa ating bansa (For now, there are no data available on that yet because we don't consider it as a variant of concern here in our country)," DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a virtual forum on Monday, March 22.
She said this when asked if the P.3 variant is resistant to vaccine.
The Health department already said that current available data are insufficient to conclude whether the variant will have significant public health implications.
"Pinag-aaralan pa po natin yan and of course sina submit natin yan sa international database para nabibigyan tayo guidance as to what type really pag lumabas na yun kung talagang magiging variant of concern (We are still studying that and of course we will submit it to the international database so that we can be given guidance as to what type really when it comes out if it will really be a variant of concern)," said Vergeire.
On Saturday, March 20, the DOH, the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC), and the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) reported the detection of 46 additional B.1.1.7 variant cases, 62 additional B.1.351 variant cases, and six additional P.3 variant cases among the eleventh batch of specimens subjected to Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS).
"These additional cases were among the 150 samples composed mostly of samples from National Capital Region laboratories. Information of cases with these variants are being investigated and verified," said DOH.
The country has already recorded 223 UK variant cases, 152 South African variant cases and 104 cases of the P.3 variant.