Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 15)— The new Omicron subvariant XBB may not be a cause for concern, but Filipinos are advised to remain careful and continue practicing health protocols, an infectious diseases expert said Saturday.
“As of now I don’t see any cause (for) concern because (of) our positivity rate and number of cases per day, [I] think it’s stable, it’s not increasing that much,” Dr. Rontgene Solante said in an interview with CNN Philippines.
“But again we need to monitor and we need to advise people to be careful.” he added. “We should not be complacent about it.”
The Philippines has yet to detect a case of the XBB— a variant which has been linked to the recent spike in COVID-19 infections in Singapore.
Solante, citing initial data from other countries, said the XBB can evade antibodies from vaccines and possibly “infect a lot of people.”
“[I]t can cause more reinfections and more breakthrough infections,” Solante explained. “But what is good about the data from [c]ountries where this subvariant is already present, although they have a high number of cases, their healthcare utilization was not affected. People who have the variant only have mild symptoms, not enough to cause severe disease.”
To help prevent the disease, the expert urged the public to continuously wear face masks especially in indoor settings, and for the eligible population to get boosters when and if they can.
He also expressed hope that the country can soon procure bivalent vaccines, which include an Omicron component. The updated coronavirus shot is seen to provide better protection against subvariants.
CNN Philippines correspondent Paige Javier contributed to this report.
