Vergeire on new Omicron sublineages in US: More infective but not more severe

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Friday urged the public to continue following health protocols amid the new Omicron sublineages reported spreading in the United States, noting that it was “2.5 times more infective but not more severe.”

Vergeire, citing the initial studies, said the new sublineages BA 2.12 and BA 2.12.1 spreading in the US  led to 93% of its COVID-19 infections.

“Ang dami na nagbunga na ng iba’t ibang branches ng mga sublineages, so for this 'yung sa US 'yung BA2.12.1, ito yung sublineages na naflag sa US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) na sinasabing 93% ng mga kaso sa US ngayon ay cause by this sublineages,” she said during the media forum.

(Several branches of sublineages have emerged. So in the US, the BA2.12.1 sublineage was flagged by the US CDC and it is said to be cause of 93% of cases in the US today.)

“According to initial studies, pinapakita apparently base sa mga pag-aaral na 2.5 times more infective ito pong BA 2.12 and BA 2.12.1. Pero doon din po sa mga initial na mga pag-aaral na ipinapakita, wala naman pong sinabi doon na mas severe naman ang nako-cause na sakit nitong sublineages na ito,” she added.

(According to initial studies, it is apparently shown that BA 2.12 and BA 2.12.1. are 2.5 times more infective. It also noted that no severe cases caused by these sublineages were reported.)

Vergeire said health experts are continuously conducting study on these sublineages detected in different parts of the world.

“Patuloy po ang pag-aaral sa lahat ng mga sublineages na nadedetect sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng mundo. Wala pa naman pong binibigay ang WHO (World Health Organization) also na mga classification na official para dito sa sublineages dahil patuloy pa pong pinagaaralan,” she said.

(We continue to study all the sublineages detected in different parts of the world. The WHO has not yet provided official classifications for these sublineages because they are still being studied.)

“Let us continue our minimum public health standards and have ourselves vaccinated with our boosters para maiwasan po natin itong kadaming kaso (to prevent a surge in cases) in the coming months or even in the coming weeks,” she added.

Projections supported with experts' data, scientific information

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III clarified that another surge in COVID-19 infections by mid-May was based on the experts’ projections.

The DOH earlier warned the public that the country might experience another surge in May with Metro Manila possibly recording as many as almost half a million active cases if the minimum public health standards (MPHS) are ignored.

“'Yan pong ating mga sinasabi ay batay sa mga experts natin hindi po ito gawa gawa lang ng DOH, hindi po iniimbento ng IATF, ito po ay mula sa ating mga experts [na] data analytics na talagang nagspecialize,” he said at Laging Handa briefing on Friday.

(That is based on our experts, it was not invented by the DOH and the IATF. It was supported by the data of our analytics experts who really specialize in this field.)

“Ang sinasabi lang nila simple kung babalewalain natin 'yung minimum health standards by 50%, ibig sabihin posibleng magkaroon ng active cases na abot 500,000 by end of May. Kung 30% reduction compliance 300,000 by end of May,” he said.

(What they are saying is simple, if we ignore the minimum health standards by 50%, it is possible to have active cases reaching 500,000 by the end of May. If 30% reduces compliance, there will be 300,000 active cases by the end of May.)

Vergeire, on the other hand, said these projections were supported with scientific facts and information, adding that it was also a reminder for the people to prepare and not get infected.

“Itong mga projections na ginagawa natin hindi po ito (These projections that we are releasing are not meant) to scare people, this is to remind people. This is to enable people for them to prepare and for them to avoid getting infected kung saka-sakaling darating tayo sa ganyang sitwasyon (if ever we come to that situation),” she explained.

“When we do projections, these are not cast in stone. When we say a number, this is based on assumption, scientific assumptions that were part of the modeling process. And with these projections hindi lang po dahil pagkatapos ng election kaya kami naglalabas ng ganito (it's not just because after the election that's why we're releasing something like this). Ang projections po namin na ginagawa ay (we made it) every two weeks just for the information of everybody,” she added.

Vergeire said the public could still prevent a possible surge in COVID-19 cases by continuing to observe the health protocols, on top of getting the primary vaccine series and booster shots.—AOL, GMA News