Dr. Guido David raised the possibility that the Philippines already has a local transmission of the BA.2.75 Omicron subvariant of the virus that cause the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).
"May possibility na baka mayroon na rin tayong transmission nung tinatawag na Centaurus variant, yung BA.2.75, pero hindi pa natin masabi," David said on Tuesday, August 9, during DZRH's Damdaming Bayan.
On August 2, the Department of Health (DOH) announced that the Philippines logged two cases of the BA2.75 variant in the Western Visayas region but assured that the individuals have already recovered from the disease.
David mentioned that the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines might have stemmed from the appearance of new Omicron subvariants and the low number of individuals receiving booster shots against the virus.
The OCTA Research fellow said that the Philippines has the lowest COVID-19 booster coverage rate in the Southeast Asian region.
"Maraming bakunado, mga 71 million, pero karamihan ay last year pa nagpabakuna so by this time, more than six months, baka humihina yung bisa ng ating bakuna, yung antibodies natin ay bumababa na," David explained.
"Kapag nagpa-booster tayo, at least kahit yung first booster, malaki ang naitutulong na palakasin ulit resistensya natin laban sa COVID," he added.
