COVID-19 STATUS | DOH warns of possible uptick in severe, critical cases due to waning immunity

April 29, 2022 , 10:22 AM

By Beatrice Puente

(April 29, 2022) – More Filipinos are now vulnerable to developing severe cases of COVID-19 because of the waning immunity from the vaccines if the administration of booster shots won’t improve in the coming weeks, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Thursday.

DOH undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the situation might become more problematic given the emergence of a more infectious Omicron mutation and possible superspreader events in the lead-up to the 2022 elections.

“Kapag dumating tayo sa point na 50% of our population immunized ay bumaba na ang immunity nila because nagwe-wane talaga ang immunity, we will have an increase in the number of severe and critical infections,” said Vergeire on One News’ The Chiefs.

On Wednesday, the country detected its first case of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.12 from a woman from Finland who arrived in the Philippines last April 2. Her close contacts, including several from Quezon City and Baguio, are already under close monitoring.

Vergeire clarified that more studies are necessary to establish if the subvariant can cause more severe or critical infections. But she said the countries that have already detected the same virus, including the United States, saw that it is more infectious than the original Omicron variant by as much as 2.5 times.

“Wala pa tayong kumpletong ebidensya sa lahat ng sublineages ng Omicron na lumalabas. Ngunit base sa mga bansang nakakaranas ngayon ng sublineage na ito, hindi siya nagpo-progress sa severe, meron lang talaga siyang mas mataas na transmissibility,” explained Vergeire.

With this, she encouraged the people to take their booster shot as soon as possible to prevent developing severe and critical COVID-19 cases. As of April 26, more than 13 million people out of the 72.5 million fully vaccinated have received their third dose.

“Pero ‘pag dumating ‘yung time na nawawala na ‘yung proteksyon, severe and critical cases ang makikita natin doon, so mas problematic ‘yun para sa atin,” said Vergeire. “I think vulnerable na ‘yung population kasi nawawala na ‘yung proteksyon na binibigay ng bakuna.”

As of Monday, the DOH recorded an additional 1,465 COVID-19 cases but none of them were tagged as severe or critical. Of the total infections in hospitals at present, health authorities reported that around 726 were admitted as severe or critical.

But Vergeire said the public should not worry for now since the hospitals still have enough beds nationwide. She recognized, however, that hospitals in some provinces can get full capacity right away because of the lower beds dedicated to COVID-19 cases.

She also warned against complacency in complying with health protocols, as the infections in Metro Manila alone can reach 60,000 per day if the rules are not properly observed.

“These are projections, not cast in stone, but this is just something to guide people and to have everybody prepared for this,” said Vergeire.

(PM)

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