Are mom and baby safe?
Aside from the Delta variant, the Philippines has already confirmed the very first case of the Lambda variant in the country, as reported by the Philippines News Agency. The Department of Health (DOH) also confirmed this Monday morning that the the infected person of this new variant is not a returning Overseas Filipino Worker.
In an interview with ABS-CBN's Teleradyo, Health undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire shared that the patient is a 35-year-old female and is pregnant. She was tested positive for COVID-19 last July and has recovered from the virus.
"Itong ating kababayan nung nagkaroon ito ay wala siyang sintomas pero siya ay kailangan i-monitor nang maigi dahil buntis po siya (She didn't experience any symptoms, but we need to monitor her carefully since she is pregnant)," says Vergeire. They are also in communication with the hospital where the patient checked in to see if she has already given birth since her due date to give birth was last month.
"Yung virus po hindi siya nagko-cross ng placental barrier (The virus doesn't cross the placental barrier)," she explains. She added that the Lambda variant is highly transmissible, but not as transmissible as the Delta variant. "All our vaccines are still effective in variants of concern," she reassures.