Vaccines, booster shots effective against Omicron variant – expert

An expert from the University of the Philippines COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team (UP PRT) said COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots are effective against the new Omicron variant, which was first reported in South Africa.

UP PRT spokesman Dr. Jomar Rabajante said they are monitoring studies abroad about the nature of the new variant of concern.

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“Sa ibang bansa, kung titignan po natin, may mga nagsasabi talaga na highly transmissible itong Omicron at up to three times mas transmissible than Delta. Mabilis po talagang kumalat at ‘yung pagkalat niya kitang-kita sa South Africa. As in marami na talaga doong Omicron ang variant,” Rabajante said.

(Many experts from other countries say that Omicron is highly transmissible, even up to three times more infectious than the Delta variant. It spreads fast, and this is evident in South Africa, which reports plenty of Omicron variant cases.)

Rabajante explained that studies show that Omicron could be more transmissible than the Delta variant. However, he added the Delta variant took several months before it spread to other countries.

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Vaccines, booster shots effective against Omicron variant – expert

The UP expert said the severity of COVID-19 infections due to Omicron is still under the verification of WHO. He added reinfection rate was high among COVID survivors.

“Ang sure po tayo rito, kahit may Omicron, makakatulong kung bakunado ka na. We just don’t know kung bababa ba ‘yung probability na mild lang o baka maging severe. Pero ang sinasabi ng marami, makakatulong ‘yung mga bakuna natin ngayon kung darating ang Omicron dito,” he said.

(What we are sure of right now is that amid the presence of the Omicron variant, it could help if you’re already vaccinated. We just don’t know if the probability of having a mild case will be lower or it will be severe. But many say that our current vaccines may help if Omicron arrives in the country.)

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Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasized the process of genome sequencing to determine if the new COVID-19 variant of concern has entered the Philippines.

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