Omicron subvariant unlikely to cause surge if PHL has hybrid immunity, says expert

The Omicron sub-variant affecting Hong Kong would not likely bring spike in COVID-19 cases in the Philippines due to “hybrid immunity", infectious disease expert Dr. Edsel Salvana said on Friday.

“We actually expect na kung mayroon na tayong tinatawag na hybrid immunity that is when you have vaccination and you get mild breakthrough infection protected ‘yan against BA.2.2,” Salvana said in a media briefing.

“So even makapasok ‘yan dito chances are hindi na ‘yan magdudulot ng mas malaking spike dahil meron na tayong exposure dito,” he added.

(So even if it gets in our country, chances are it won't cause a bigger spike because we already have exposure here.)

The Philippines has earlier detected the BA.1 and the BA.2 or the Stealth Omicron, two sub-lineages of the more transmissible Omicron COVID-19 variant.

The Department of Health (DOH) earlier said Omicron was considered the predominant variant in the National Capital Region and other regions due to its increasing cases last January.

Salvana said having sufficient supply of different kinds of vaccines in the country also helped to fight COVID-19 variants.

“Marami tayong klase ng bakuna. Because we have different kinds of vaccines, mas resilient yung ating vaccines overall sa mga variants dahil iba-iba ang targets,” he added.

(We have many types of vaccines. Because we have different kinds of vaccines, our vaccines are more resilient overall to the variants because the targets are different.)

Meanwhile, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the country has not yet detected cases of BA.2.2, adding that it is still closely monitoring the situation.

“Hindi pa nabibigyan ng conclusive evidence na ito ay mas severe, mas nakakapanghawa. Ang main factor sa Hong Kong that is why medyo overwhelmed sila was because of the low number of senior citizens in their area who were vaccinated,” Vergeire said.

(There is no conclusive evidence provided that it is more severe and more contagious. The main factor in Hong Kong that is why they are overwhelmed with COVID-19 infections was because of the low number of senior citizens in their area who were vaccinated.)

“Sa kanila yata 66% ng mga nakakatanda ay hindi bakunado kaya talagang noong pumasok ang Omicron sa kanila ang kanilang nakakatanda ay talagang highly affected,” she added.

(At least 66% of their senior citizens were not vaccinated, so when Omicron entered their country, their seniors were really highly affected.)

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier said that the Omicron sub-variant affecting Hong Kong may find its way into the country.

Duque, however, said he was unsure whether the sub-variant would greatly affect the country as the previous surge was due to the BA.2 variant.

He assured the public that the country's vaccination rate is higher compared to Hong Kong's, especially among senior citizens, as some researchers have attributed the increase in cases in the other countries to low vaccination rate. —NB, GMA News