Two health experts urged the national government to accelerate the vaccination drive as the Philippines recorded 16 new cases of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus disease (COVID-19) variant.
Of the 16 new cases, 11 were considered as local cases, which have been detected in Northern Mindanao, Western Visayas, National Capital Region, and Central Luzon.
The country now has 35 cases of the Delta variant.
In a Facebook post, infectious disease expert Dr. Edsel Salvana said the Delta variant detection is "sporadic and do not yet represent widespread transmission."
"Genomic surveillance continues to do its part in informing our COVID-19 response. With the added detection of Delta variant cases including local ones, we are better able to tailor our responses to the continuing threat of COVID-19," Salvana wrote.
However, he added that the virus got through possibly due to "lapses in border protocols."
"We need to continue to keep more introductions out as we work to stamp out transmissions from these detected cases and their close contacts," Salvana said.
"Vaccines continue to protect and may have also helped prevent Delta from spreading uncontrollably. If we stick to the plan, keep our guard up and vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate, we can keep Delta at bay."
Meanwhile, former advisor to the National Task Force of COVID-19 Dr. Tony Leachon urged the national government to vaccinate high-risk areas and hospitals with vaccines with effect on Delta variants.
"Pag highly transmissible at exponential yung rise ng Delta variant at ang base natin ang baba ng vaccination rate natin, marami pa ring mahahawa (Since the Delta variant is highly transmissible and its rise is exponential and our vaccination rate is still slow, many can still be infected)," Leachon said during a Facebook live broadcast on Friday night.
Leachon is also recommending the inclusion of Malaysia and Thailand in the travel ban, as the countries are also facing a surge in cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant.
On July 6, the World Health Organization said COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer BioNTech and AstraZeneca "worked well against severed COVID-19 caused by Delta."
Similarly, Moderna officials said research indicates that the company's COVID-19 vaccine has shown "promising protection in a lab setting" against the Delta variant.
Johnson & Johnson also stated that its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine protects individuals against COVID-19 for at least eight months with "strong, persistent" protection against the Delta variant.
The Delta variant, first identified in India, is 60 percent more transmissible than the Alpha variant first reported in the United Kingdom.