The possibility of the Omicron XE sub-variant entering the Philippines is real. A group of doctors has voiced its concerns that there could be a surge of new coronavirus disease cases in the country in May.
Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) president Dr. Maricar Limpin has said the possible entry of the sub-variant and low number of individuals getting booster shots could drum up the numbers of Covid-19 cases in the country. She said people who have gotten their primary doses but have yet to receive their booster shots are at risk of getting infected because of waning immunity.
Only 18 percent or 12.2 million out of 66.2 million fully vaccinated Filipinos have received their booster shots, according to the Department of Health data. The National Government and local government units still have lots of jabs to do—they must increase vaccination rates and administration of booster shots to prepare for the entry of the Omicron sub-variant.
Wanting to keep the economy going, Presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion has proposed to replace vaccination cards with booster cards as a requirement for individuals to enter indoor establishments starting June. His suggestion has been backed by over 10 business groups in the country.
The XE sub-variant is a hybrid of two strains of Omicron—the original strain BA.1 and the more infectious BA.2 that has driven the cases in Shanghai, China, United States and other countries in Europe.
A Time report quoted a professor of infectious disease who said that XE is a recombinant variant, which picks up attributes associated with each strain (BA.1 and BA.2), but not always turns into a more dangerous version.
Even if the Omicron XE sub-variant is not threatening, it could cause new infections among the unvaccinated and fully vaccinated individuals who have yet to get their booster shots.
A surge in new cases could overwhelm the country’s health care system again, and could burden the medical frontliners—again.