The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday said the country has not yet detected a sub-lineage of the highly transmissible Omicron variant called the BA.2 or the Stealth Omicron.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire made the statement in an interview with another media outlet.
The Stealth Omicron variant was discovered a week after Omicron was discovered in South Africa last year.
"Hanggang sa ngayon naman po wala po tayong nade-detect na ganitong BA.2 sa ating bansa (as of now, we still have not detected the BA.2 in our country)," Vergeire said.
The Health official also assured that the country has the capacity to detect the sub-lineage.
“In our Philippine Genome Center, when we do our whole-genome sequencing, all the possible lineages that are present in every sample that we get can be detected,” she continued.
Vergeire said the World Health Organization (WHO) and other experts are still studying the BA.2.
“Based on their initial findings and based on observing patients wala naman masyadong difference with the Omicron as to the severity of illness,” she said.
“So it is WHO that we will wait for if they classify it as a variant of interest or concern,” she added.
