The Philippines has detected the country’s first confirmed cases of the Omicron XBB subvariant and XBC variant of the coronavirus, the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday.
DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said some 81 cases of XBB were detected in two regions.
Of the figure, 70 have recovered and eight are still undergoing isolation while the status of the remaining three cases are still being verified.
The Omicron XBB subvariant is a recombinant of BJ.1 (BA.2.10.1 sublineage) and BM.1.1.1 (BA.2.75 sublineage).
It has been the primary cause of the new COVID-19 spikes in Singapore, the DOH said.
The Singaporean Ministry of Health said there is no sufficient evidence that the XBB causes more severe illness.
“So far, the large majority of patients continue to report mild symptoms such as sore throat or slight fever, especially if they have been vaccinated,” the DOH said in a statement.
The DOH said currently available evidence for XBB does not suggest any differences in disease severity or clinical manifestations compared to the original Omicron variant.
Meanwhile, some 193 cases of XBC were detected in 11 regions.
Of the figure, 176 have recovered, three are still undergoing isolation and five died while the outcomes of the remaining nine cases are still being verified.
The XBC variant is a recombinant of delta and BA.2 variants, the DOH said.
The XBC is under monitoring and investigation by the United Kingdom Health Security Agency.
But other global health agencies such as the World Health Organization and the European Centers for Disease Control have yet to determine the risk this variant poses, the DOH added.
Also on Tuesday, the DOH said children ages 6 to 17 can now receive the COVID-19 vaccine produced by China’s Sinovac.
Vergeire said the agency has approved CoronaVac as a primary series for 6 to 17-year-olds as an alternative for mRNA vaccines on the recommendation of the Health Technology Assessment Council, an independent advisory body of the DOH.
