Amid the emergence of the so-called “Delta plus” variant, the country’s vaccine expert panel assured Wednesday, June 23, the public that all vaccines that are available in the country could ward off any severe forms of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) even with variants.

The assurance was made by Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) VEP chair Dr. Nina Gloriani after India’s Ministry of Health declared Delta plus, which was found in 16 cases in the state of Maharashtra, a new coronavirus variant “of concern.”

“All vaccines we have will give protection against severe forms of COVID19 even with variants,” she told the Manila Bulletin in a Viber message.

She maintained that the VEP is still not yet recommending fully vaccinated Filipinos to get their booster shots amid the detection of the new Delta variant.

“We do not yet recommend booster shots at this point,” she said, citing the limited vaccine supply in the country.

Related story: https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/19/in-spirit-of-equity-dosts-expert-panel-urges-fully-vaccinated-filipinos-to-shelve-covid-19-booster-shot-plans/

She said to address the threat of the Delta plus variant, the public should strictly observe minimum public health protocols, and that the government should intensify its vaccination efforts.

“The practice of minimum public health precautions remains key to stopping virus transmission and thereby virus mutation,” Gloriani said.

"We also need to ramp up our vaccination coverage, and make sure all vaccinated individuals receive the second dose. After one dose, there is only 30 percent protection against the variants, but after the second dose, this may rise to 60 to 80 percent.” she added.

Gloriani had noted that of the four variants of concern, the Delta variant which was first detected in India “is more problematic because it is highly transmissible” and has high resistance to vaccines.

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