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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Omicron XBB.1.5 less likely to cause 'massive' increase in PH Covid-19 cases, expert believes

Omicron XBB.1.5 less likely to cause 'massive' increase in PH Covid-19 cases, expert believes

Published Mar 2, 2023 10:00 am

Photo from Pixabay/ MANILA BULLETIN

The presence of omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 in the Philippines is expected not to trigger a “massive” spike in the number of Covid-19 cases, an infectious disease expert believes.

In a public briefing on Thursday, Feb. 9, Dr. Rontgene Solante said there is a low possibility for the country to see a high number of Covid-19 cases despite the detection of XBB.1.5.

“I would not expect that this XBB.1.5 will really cause a massive increase or significant increase in the cases,” said Solante, head of the Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine unit of the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila.

Solante said that such a scenario is less likely to happen because of the country’s high Covid-19 primary vaccination coverage.

“I still believe that our population wall of immunity medyo mataas-taas pa dahil marami na ang nakatanggap ng primary vaccine series (is still quite high because many have already received the primary vaccine series),” he said.

“Plus, marami-rami na rin ang na expose sa (many have already been exposed to) Covid. So, that gives you what we call the hybrid type of immunity,” he added.

Meanwhile, Solante said it is possible for the XBB.1.5 to become one of the dominant Covid-19 variants in the country.

Citing the World Health Organization, Solante said that XBB.1.5 is among the “top three fast rising variants or subvariants of omicron.”

“If this will be the dominant variant, yes it can be. But I don't think it will cause a significant spike in the increase in cases,” he said.

Despite this, the health expert still reminded the public to avoid complacency.

“Pero hindi tayo magiging kampante (But we should not be complacent) because it can cause an increase in the cases. Ang magiging vulnerable dito ay yung matatanda at immunocompromised (The elderly and immunocompromised are considered vulnerable),” he said.

The country’s first case of XBB.1.5 was found in the latest genome sequencing result conducted last Jan. 30 to Feb. 3, the Department of Health (DOH) recently reported.

This omicron subvariant has been detected in 59 countries. Citing the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the DOH said that XBB.1.5 "accounts for 66.4 percent of cases in the US, from Jan. 29 to Feb. 4, 2023."

Related Tags

covid-19 omicron subvariant dr. rontgene solante XBB.1.5
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