Nakikipag-ugnayan umano ang Department of Health (DOH) sa World Health Organization (WHO) tungkol sa tinatawag na "XE," na posibleng bagong coronavirus variant ng mas nakakahawang Omicron.
“The DOH is in constant coordination with WHO regarding the reported ‘Omicron XE’ detected in Bangkok, Thailand,” sabi ng DOH nitong Lunes.
“Observation and monitoring are still ongoing on whether the variant would be categorized as a sub-variant of Omicron or a new variant to be named by WHO should it display any significant change in characteristics,” dagdag ng DOH sa mensaheng ipinadala sa mga mamamahayag.
Ayon sa WHO, ang XE ay pinagsamang mutant umano ng BA.1 at BA.2 sub-variants ng Omicron, according to WHO.
Mananatili umanong Omicron variant ang XE hanggang walang “significant differences in transmission and disease characteristics, including severity, may be reported,” ayon sa WHO.
Binabantayan din umano ng DOH ang trend nito sa tulong ng Philippine Genome Center.
“In this light, the DOH reminds the public that vaccines, in addition to adhering to the minimum public health standards and now, more importantly, everyone, especially our elderly, the immunocompromised, those with comorbidities, and children are highly encouraged to get vaccinated and boosted,” ayon sa kagawaran. —FRJ, GMA News
