Is the Philippines prepared for omicron variant surge?

MANILA - Ensuring sufficient healthcare capacity and proper execution of anti-COVID measures will prevent a surge in cases brought by the omicron variant, a former health secretary said Wednesday.

The Philippines on Wednesday detected two cases of the latest coronavirus variant in a returning Filipino from Japan and a Nigerian national, the Department of Health said.

• Philippines confirms first 2 cases of COVID-19 omicron variant

"The bottomline is holding the line against deaths and serious illness because if many people get mild and moderate infections that’s okay but what we want to prevent are the deaths," former Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said in a virtual media forum.

"For me what's most important is the execution. It’s how we manage it really at the ground floor, in the local governments... For me it's that, I think we’re going to beat omicron with good execution and finally really the education of our people. They really have to understand all what we’re doing."

Local governments are "shorthanded, exhausted, their supplies are low," said Dayrit.

"I know that they have many many intentions for contact tracing, testing, treatment, and when you actually go through this discussion you can see they're falling short.

"That or me is really what we have to attend to, its that execution at the ground level."

The former health chief also underscored the importance of boosting the public's immunity against COVID-19.

"I would support giving boosters for 3-4 months mainly because this virus is changing all the time. When the spike protein changes, you're not sure whether your antibodies are really specific for them," Dayrit said.

The country's vaccine expert panel is looking into shortening the interval between the second dose and booster shot to 3 months from 6 months, said Health Undersecretary Francisco Duque.

• PH gov’t studying to shorten gap for COVID booster shot
• Booster shots triple protection vs COVID: infectious disease expert

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