No need to panic amid reported Delta subvariant —health expert

There is no need to panic amid reports of a Delta coronavirus subvariant detected in some European countries and Israel, an infection disease expert said Thursday.

Interviewed on Dobol B TV,  Dr. Edsel Salvana, a member of the Department of Health (DOH) Technical Advisory Group, said more study is needed regarding AY 4.2. subvariant.

"Kinakailangang pag-aralan pero di kailangang mag-panic [There is a need to study it but there's no need to panic]," he said.

Salvana said so far, the information is that the subvariant  "has increased transmissibility similar or just slightly higher than Delta."

"Hindi siya tinuturing na formal variant. Parang Delta pa rin siya [It is not yet formally considered a variant. It's just like Delta]," Salvana said.

An Agence France-Press report said the AY 4.2. variant has turned up several times in the United Kingdom.

The Delta variant remains the most common lineage among the samples sequenced in the Philippines at 29.2%, according to the Department of Health.—KBK, GMA News