Yesterday, the Department of Health (DOH) assured that the Philippines would be one of the first to buy ‘Omicron adapted vaccines’, also called ‘new generation vaccines’ in the countries that manufacture them when they are ready.
“We are going to explore that possibility. We are preparing, and we are going to procure if ever it is available already,” assured DOH officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
According to the vaccine manufacturers, the current vaccines were made for previous variants of COVID-19 and not for Omicron, so new formulations are now being made.
It is expected that such type of vaccine will be ready, particularly the one made by Moderna, by the current year’s fourth quarter.
It is said that they have prepared a fund for this so that if the experts give the ‘go-signal’ they will be able to buy immediately.
It is also said that the Food and Drugs Administration will immediately give a recommendation to the expert panel of the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) to grant the new vaccine an emergency use authorization quickly.
Yesterday, the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 225 additional cases of Omicron subvariants in the combined genome sequencing.
Of this number, there are 190 new cases of BA.5, 34 cases of BA.4, and one new case of BA2.12.1.
Of the BA.5 cases, 175 have recovered from the disease, while seven are currently still in isolation. The status of eight other patients is still being verified.
Philippines to get Omicron vaccines – DOH
In BA.4, 33 have recovered, while the condition of another patient is still being investigated.
A patient from the Davao region tested positive for the BA.2.12.1 variant but has since recovered.
Meanwhile, the number of patients with COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care units (ICUs) of hospitals increased slightly. However, the Department of Health (DOH) assured that the country remains in the low-risk classification.
The country’s ICU utilization rate increased to 28% from the previous 26%.
He explained that the steady increase in ICU admissions began at the beginning of July. The ICU admission and level of ‘severe and critical cases’ today is said to be the same level as last March.
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