Test tube labeled “COVID-19 Omicron variant test positive” is seen in this illustration picture taken Jan. 15, 2022. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)
MANILA, Philippines — The local transmission of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1 in three areas in the country should not be cause for alarm so long as the public update their vaccinations and keep minimum health protocols, health experts said.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Benjamin Co told the Inquirer that he would no longer recommend contact tracing of those who tested positive for Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1 so long as they have been vaccinated.
Dr. Eva Maria de la Paz, director of the University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health, said in an online briefing that Filipinos must “be prepared, not alarmed” as doctors now know how to manage the coronavirus.
Dr. Anna Ong-Lim, another infectious disease expert, stressed the importance of vaccines as the wall of protection especially since protection breaks down within homes where family members remove their masks.
—KATHLEEN DE VILLA
RELATED STORIES
PH detects local transmission of Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1
3 Iloilo residents found with Omicron subvariant