The Department of Health (DOH) has calmed the public over the newly discovered XE variant of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom and Bangkok, Thailand.
In a statement, the department said that the observation and monitoring of the World Health Organization (WHO) continue in order to determine if the XE is a new variant or a substrain of the Omicron variant.
The WHO is determining the characteristics of the XE variant.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that there are studies that will indicate if the XE is more contagious than the stealth Omicron.
"Oo, meron nga sinasabi sila na batay sa mga huling ulat itong variant XE na dalawang nagsanib pwersa ng BA.1.1 at saka BA.2. So, tinitingnan na baka daw itong mas mabilis ng sampung porsyento makakalat kesa sa Omicron 2," Duque said.
He also assured the public that there are still no cases of the XE variant in the country and there is still no indication that the new variant is more ferocious than the previous variants.
“Pero kasi tayo galing na tayo sa point two. Wala pa tayo nase-sequence ng Philippine Genome Center o natututkoy na virus dun sa mga tinetest natin na specimens," he added.
In the primary findings of the WHO, the new variant is 10% more infectious than the BA.2 variant but there is still a need to have additional studies. The government has no plans to close the borders even with the threat of the XE variant.
“Iba naman yung panahon ngayon 2020-2021, wala pang masyadong bakunadong tao ngayon 73% na ng ating 90 million targeted population nakatanggap na ng kumpletong bakuna," the health secretary noted.
