AMID the threat of the new Omicron BA 2.12 subvariant of Sars-Cov-2, which causes the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the Bacolod City Emergency Operation Center-Task Force (EOC-TF) is intensifying its vaccination drive.
Dr. Chris Sorongon, deputy for medical data and analysis of EOC-TF, said yesterday, April 29, that the BA 2.12 subvariant is also part of the Omicron or a new strain of Omicron variant.
Sorongon said the BA 2.12 subvariant was detected in Europe as well as in the United States that caused the new wave of Covid cases in said places and it’s highly infectious.
“Here in Bacolod, our vaccination and minimum health protocols are still essential in order to prevent further spread of Covid-19. So if you are vaccinated already, have availed the booster shot, and are following the health protocols, it means you are still on the safe side,” he said.
Sorongon noted that the country’s first case of BA 2.12 Omicron subvariant was female Finnish who arrived from her home country on April 2, 2022 and visited Quezon City and Baguio City for seminars.
“She entered the country undetected (BA 2.12 Omicron subvariant) because fully vaccinated individuals are no longer required to undergo isolation,” he said.
Aside from intensified vaccination drive, the city still requires travelers to secure the safe, swift, and smart passage (S-Pass), vaccination card while the unvaccinated individuals are also required to submit rapid antigen test result or negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result to prevent entry of the Omicron subvariant.
“So far, we don’t have a surge of Covid-19 cases (and) we are consistent in single-digit of new cases and there were about six days with no cases recorded,” he added.
Sorongon noted that as of April 29, 2022, 135 percent of the target population in Bacolod City are already fully vaccinated, but only 10 percent of them availed the booster shot.
“So, we need to intensify our booster shots. We need the booster dose to boost our immune response and our protection against Covid-19 because even the prediction of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III stated that we might have a surge of Covid-19 after the elections,” he added.*