Manila Bulletin
DOH to expand PH’s genome sequencing capacity
The Department of Health (DOH) intends to increase the Philippines' capability for whole genome sequencing to better identify COVID-19 variants.
Currently, only three institutions—the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, the University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health, and the Philippine Genome Center—possess genome sequencing capabilities.
The DOH aims to establish strategic genome sequencing hubs not only in Metro Manila but also in other regions across the country.
This initiative comes in response to an infectious disease expert's observation that the Philippines' current sampling rate for genome sequencing is very low.
Despite over a million COVID-19 cases, only 7,167 samples have been sequenced, detecting various concerning variants like B.1.351, B.1.1.7, P.3, and P.1.
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