DOH fears new COVID-19 surge as jabs slow down

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire. (FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — The possibility of a local transmission of the Omicron subvariant BA.5 was “very high,” the Department of Health (DOH) said on Saturday after two individuals from the same household in Central Luzon tested positive for the BA.5 subvariant.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire also warned during a Palace briefing that the country may see another surge in hospitalizations in August because of the slow inoculation rate even as the immunity of vaccinated individuals continue to wane.

According to her, only 15 percent of the eligible population have taken their second booster shots, and only 25 percent of senior citizens were inoculated with their second booster shot.

“Once we detect this subvariant in our community, we have a high index of suspicion that we have a local transmission because we have now seen the linkage,” Vergeire said of the Omicron BA.5 subvariant.

“If we have detected individuals to have this kind of variant in our community, the possibility that the transmission is local, is very high,” she added.

She pointed out that the two individuals who contracted the BA.5 subvariant had no travel history outside the country.

But Vergeire clarified that there was no community transmission of the BA.5 subvariant in the country yet.

Vergeire said the government was still expecting to receive vaccines from the COVAX Facility, a World Health Organization-led global initiative.

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