PH remains free of 'razor throat' COVID variant based on sequences — DOH

A mother carries her child after being inoculated with a COVID-19 booster shot in Scout Santiago in Quezon City on September 29, 2022. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1, which is seen to cause a rise in cases in the United States and several other Southeast Asian nations, is not yet in the Philippines, the Department of Health said on Monday.

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At the sidelines of a DOH-initiated job fair in Caloocan City, Health spokesperson Albert Domingo said that the country continues to sequence samples of the virus to determine the presence of variants and has so far had no readings of the variant under monitoring by the World Health Organization.

Also known as the Nimbus variant and a descendant of the Omicron variant, it is characterized as causing sore throat described by others as similar to pain from a razor blade. 

Domingo said a sore throat is not an old and common symptom of COVID-19 regardless of variant.

“What is clear is walang bagong sintomas. Ganon pa rin ang sintomas ng variant na ito, lagnat, meron ding baradong ilong at sore throat. Ang ating napansin, hindi nagkakaroon ng severe symptoms,” he said.

Experts are also not seeing incidents of oxygen desaturation because of the variant.

STATUS IN THE PHILIPPINES

In the Philippines, occupancy rates of ICU and regular beds for COVID-19 remain low.

More than five years since COVID-19 affected the entire world, the DOH said it is now considered as a WILD (Waterborne, Influenza-like illness, Leptospirosis, Dengue) disease.

“Influenza-like illnesses o mala-trangkasong sakit, kasama na siya sa mga diseases na nagca-cause nun.”

COVID-19 Nimbus variant not yet in PH: DOH

While COVID-19 vaccines are no longer available in the country, Domingo explains that because vaccination rates have reached over 70 percent, herd immunity continues to protect even those unvaccinated from severe forms of the disease.

Vaccinated individuals remain protected even as new variants emerge because of cell-mediated immunity.

“Yung ating immune system, once makilala niya yung sakit, forever niyang maalala at kung kailangan iaactivate niya ang panlaban. Ang T-cell-mediated immunity ay nakikitang dahilan kung bakit tumatalab pa rin,” Domingo said.

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