AS the country prepares to acquire bivalent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines, the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday reported that the Omicron variant continued to dominate samples that it has sequenced.
Based on the latest genome sequencing results of the Philippine Genome Center (PGC), the DOH said 613 cases or 88 percent of the 694 samples were found to be under the Omicron variant.
“At present, of the currently circulating variants, only Omicron and its subvariants have been identified,” said the DOH.
It said that among the Omicron subvariants, BA.2.3.20 has the highest number with 252 cases, which are all local cases.
Subvariant XBB comes at second with 201 cases, which are also local cases.
The BQ.1 sublineage, meanwhile, recorded 18 cases, half of which are local cases and the other half detected among returning overseas Filipinos.
There were also 15 cases of the XBC subvariant, which are all local cases.
The DOH also said there were also seven local cases of the BA.5 subvariant and two local cases of the BA.2.75 subvariant.
The PGC labeled 118 samples as “other Omicron” subvariants, with all of them being local cases.
The remaining 81 samples had no lineages assigned to them, according to the DOH.
The bivalent COVID-19 vaccines are known to contain components of the Omicron variant and is hoped to provide better protection against the coronavirus.
The DOH said the country is already set to acquire 1 million doses of bivalent COVID-19 Pfizer vaccines from the COVAX Facility.
‘ORATIO’
Meanwhile, with the pandemic now at a manageable level, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said it has decided to remove the “Oratio Imperata” (mandatory prayer) against COVID-19 that is being recited in every Mass in the country.
In a memo released after the 125th CBCP Plenary Assembly held over the weekend, the CBCP released the “Litany of Gratitude after the COVID Pandemic” to be prayed during the Mass instead.
“Please find the Litany of Gratitude after the COVID Pandemic to be prayed from February 11 until February 22 (Ash Wednesday) to replace the Oratio Imperata against COVID-19,” said CBCP Secretary General Msgr. Bernardo Pantin.
The bishops said the litany must be prayed in all weekday and Sunday Masses nationwide.
In the litany, the people are set to thank the Lord for “reminding the people of the fragility of life” and for “allowing everyone to connect with one another despite the need for isolation.”
It also offers gratitude for the “heroic kindness of those who provided scientific, social, and spiritual help” to everybody, as well as the “gift of newly discovered medicines and vaccines to combat the virus”.
“Accept our thanksgiving for your provident love during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the special prayer.
It was back in January 2020 when the CBCP first issued the Oratio Imperata against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CBCP revised the prayer in February 2021 to include a plea for the effectiveness of the vaccines to end the global health crisis.
