DOH confirms local transmission of Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1

The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the local transmission of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1 in the Philippines.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire stated that the new subvariant cases detected are no longer related to cases from other countries, but linkages between detected cases can still be seen, indicating it is not yet community transmission.

There are three new cases of Omicron BA.2.12.1 subvariant detected in the Western Visayas Region: one returning overseas Filipino from the United States and two local cases.

One of the ROF and one of the local cases are fully vaccinated, while the vaccination status of the other local case is still being verified.

The DOH is investigating the health status and close contacts of these cases, and whether they are related to each other.

The DOH previously identified two cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) and twelve in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, during April, all of whom experienced mild symptoms and have since recovered.

BA.2.12.1 is believed to be up to 27% more transmissible than the previous dominant subvariant, BA.2, and possesses immune escape properties.