DOH adopts 'sentinel' approach in monitoring vulnerable groups

Philippine health experts are strictly monitoring most vulnerable population groups or the immunocompromised to better protect them from new coronavirus subvariants, National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 medical adviser Dr. Ted Herbosa said Friday.

According to Herbosa, the Department of Health (DOH) and the NTF have adopted “sentinel surveillance” or the strict monitoring of immune-impaired groups.

“Nagbago na yung approach ng DOH and the NTF nandoon na tayo sa tinatawag na ‘sentinel surveillance.’ Hindi na natin binabantayan yung number of cases every day.

"Ang mas importante na sa atin ngayon ay yung mga vulnerable ito ang rason kung bakit siguro inuna natin sa 2nd booster yung mga immunocompromised sapagkat ngayon tinatawag na sentinel surveillance,” he said at the Laging Handa briefing.

[The DOH and the NTF have shifted their approach. We  are now into "sentinel surveillance." We no longer monitor the number of cases every day. What is more important to us now is the vulnerable population.]

“Ang gusto nating bantayan yung mga naoospital at namamatay. Itong mga bagong subvariants yung BA.2.12, ito ay hindi naman mas nakakamatay ang problema natin yung mga taong mahina ang immunity so yung tinatawag na sentinel reporting,” he added.

(We keep an eye on those who are hospitalized, and those with weak immunity. The new subvariants, including BA.2.12, are not as deadly as the earlier variants, but those with weak immunity need to be closely monitored. We call this approach "sentinel reporting.")

Earlier, the DOH announced that the Philippines detected its first case of Omicron BA.2.12 in Baguio City. She is a 52-year-old Finnish female who arrived from Finland on April 2.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier pointed out that the BA.2.12 sublineage was “2.5 times more infective but not more severe” than the original Omicron variant.

The DOH said at present, BA.2.12 is neither a variant of interest nor a variant of concern.

“Babantayan natin yung pwedeng maospital at yung pwedeng mamatay. Yung dami ng kaso alam naman natin pagnahawa ka ngayon ng COVID kung mild lang at asymptomatic sa bahay ka na lang diba magisolate ka ng ilang araw at pagkatapos non eh wala ka ng nararamdaman,” Herbosa said.

(We will monitor those who were hospitalized. Those with COVID-19 who are experiencing mild symptoms and asymptomatic stayed at home, they will be isolated for a few days and then they will recover.)

“So parang regular flu na lang parang regular trangkaso na lang ang tingin lalo na kung ikaw ay walang ibang sakit. Pero yung mga taong may comorbidity gaya nung may mga cancer, yung may kidney disease o yung may mga HIV sila ay yung may high risk na mamatay pa rin kung mahahawa dito sa mga bagong subvariant [ng coronavirus],” he added.

(So it looks like a regular flu, especially for those who have not experienced other illnesses. But people with comorbidity including those with cancer, kidney disease or those with HIV are at high risk of dying if they become infected with the new subvariants.)

The Philippine Genome Center (PGC) said no onward transmission of Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12 was detected in the country after health authorities detected its first case in Baguio City.

PGC executive director Dr. Cynthia Saloma said the Omicron BA.2.12 sublineage was circulating in other countries including Canada, North America, and Europe, which could possibly have led to the Finnish national acquiring the virus. —LBG, GMA News