Current vaccines still effective vs. 'Omicron XE' –expert

The COVID-19 vaccines currently administered in the country still remain effective against the possible new coronavirus variant linked to the more transmissible Omicron, infectious disease expert Dr. Rontgene Solante said Tuesday.

“Yes, so far kasi nakikita naman natin ‘yung (we could see that on the) BA.1 and BA.2, our vaccines are working,” Solante said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview when asked if the vaccines could still protect the public against the XE recombinant, a mutant of the BA.1 and the BA.2 sub-variants of Omicron, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Despite this, he expressed belief the XE is “more transmissible” than the BA.1 and BA.2.

“According to WHO, it is 10% more transmissible than the BA.2,” he added.

Aside from Thailand, Solante said there were more than 600 cases detected in the United Kingdom (UK), but most of the infected only showed mild symptoms so far.

“I think the behavior, the characteristic will (depend) on the population. Halimbawa mas bata ka, most likely mild lang ang mga sintomas nito (if you are young, then the symptoms can be mild), but if you are 60 years old and immunocompromised, then there will really be problem and it can also be severe,” he said.

Solante added “it is too early” still to recommend border control from the UK and Thailand as the XE needs to be further monitored.

The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday said it is in constant coordination with the WHO regarding the “Omicron XE” as it also continuously monitors case trends with the assistance of the Philippine Genome Center.

WHO said XE belongs to the Omicron variant until “significant differences in transmission and disease characteristics, including severity, may be reported.”

“We’re still in that wall of immunity. Kaya lang [However], we have to maintain that,” Solante said, underscoring the importance of the primary vaccine series and booster shots.

The Philippines on Monday recorded 276 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the nationwide tally to 3,679,761.—AOL, GMA News