(MANILA BULLETIN)

The Department of Health (DOH) is intent on calling the newest Covid-19 variants by the names of KP.2 and KP.3 instead of the more commonly known term “FLiRT” variants, in a bid to make the public take them more seriously.

DOH Spokesperson Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo gave this message during an oversight meeting held by the House Committee on Appropriations with the agency on  Wednesday, May 29.

“KP.2 and KP.3 variants, ‘yun po ang tawag namin sa FLiRT kasi baka hindi po tayo seryosohin ng taong bayan pag landi ang sinabi, pag FLiRT,” said Domingo.

(KP.2 and KP.3 variants, that's what we call FLiRT because people may not take us seriously because they think of flirting when we say FLiRT.)

“Kaya KP.2, KP.3 ang ginagamit namin (That’s why we are using KP.2, KP.3.),” he added.

On May 3, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it is closely monitoring four circulating variants, namely JN.1.7, JN.1.18, KP.2, and KP.3.

These variants appear to have descended from the JN.1 variant—a Covid-19 strain that emerged in late 2023 and caused an uptick in cases worldwide.

In a recent statement, the DOH said the unusual moniker of “FLiRT” was coined by researchers to describe the amino acid changes in the Covid-19 virus’ spike protein, specifically from phenylalanine (F) to leucine (L), and from arginine (R) to threonine (T).

The department said it avoids using “FLiRT” to refer to the new variants because it might result in a “miscommunication of health risk” due to its “informal and casual” nature.

The DOH says there is as yet no evidence that the KP.2 and KP.3 variants could cause severe to critical Covid-19.

While these new variants are “likely” to be already present in the country, the DOH said they currently pose low or mild case severity.

Domingo noted that it remains to be seen if the new variants were the primary cause of the recently observed uptick in new Covid-19 cases.

He said that during the start of 2024, the average per day of new cases was about 500. However, in the month of May, the average increased to about 1,750.

Currently, all regions in the country remain at “low risk” for Covid-19.