THE Department of Health (DOH) clarified that there is still no confirmed case of the Deltacron variant in the Philippines.
Deltacron is a recombinant of the Delta (AY.4) and Omicron (BA.1) variants of COVID-19. A recombination occurs when there is a co-infection of the same host by the two distinct variants. This emerged due to the circulation of both variants for several weeks.
“Pero hindi nangangahulugan agad na ito ay mas nakahahawa, mas peligroso o mas mabangis kumpara sa kanyang parent variants,” DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III explained.
“Ang ating mga kasalukuyang istratehiya laban sa Omicron ay magiging epektibo pa rin sa banta ng recombinant variant na ito. Sa kasalukuyan, hindi pa ito naitatala sa ating bansa at nananatiling nananaliksik ang ating experts upang higit na maunawaan ang kabuuang katangian ng deltacron,” he added.
To build an additional layer of protection against the virus, National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. emphasized the need to ramp up the administration of booster shots, which has declined recently despite a high vaccine willingness rate of 80 percent.
“We have to highly encourage our government workers and economic frontliners to get their booster shots. Second, mag-provide dapat tayo ng possible incentives for people with boosters,” Galvez said.
“Lastly, nire-recommend po ng ibang business sector na booster shots may be a requirement for travel and entering establishments,” he added.
As of March 16, 2022, a total of 139,454,246 doses have already been administered nationwide. Of this number, 64,838,213 Filipinos are now fully vaccinated, while 11,291,687 individuals have received booster shots or additional doses.
The vaccination for the pediatric sector also continues to speed up where nearly 11 million children aged five to 17 years old have received at least one dose.
This number is expected to increase further after the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac for those aged six to 17 years old, pending the release of the final guidelines from the Department of Health and the Health Technology Assessment Council.