The Department of Health said Thursday there was no need to close down schools or raise the alert level after the more transmissible after the Omicron variant was detected.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the DOH is coordinating with the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education on safely conducting face-to-face classes.
“We are now coordinating with the Department of Education and what measures to take to prevent our students infecting each other,” Vergeire told a media briefing.
The Philippines on Wednesday detected its first two cases of the Omicron variant from international travelers from Japan and Nigeria.
On the other hand, Education Secretary Leonor Briones earlier said the conduct of face-to-face classes in the country would continue despite the threat of Omicron.
So far, a total 272 public schools and 18 private schools have been conducting face-to-face classes in the country under the pilot implementation.
Vergeire said the DOH was intensifying its efforts for active case finding and monitoring of clustering in areas and severe infections.
“We need to prepare. So far, there is no cause for alarm,” Vergeire said.
“Our surveillance system needs to be very active and very robust so we can see if there is an increase. We can already do some measures to prevent increases in cases,” she added.
Meanwhile, a congressional leader has reiterated her appeal to the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to prioritize vaccination of children 5 to 11 years old before they are allowed to go on face-to-face classes.
San Jose Del Monte City Rep. Florida Robes, chairperson of the House committee on people’s participation, said if face-to-face classes in the college level were limited to fully vaccinated students, the same standard of protection should be given to children in kinder and elementary schools.
“If only fully vaccinated students are allowed to attend face to face classes, how much more should we not make the same requirement for those in grade school,” Robes said in a statement.
She added that to date no vaccine manufacturer had submitted an Emergency Use Application for children 5 years to 11 years of age.
Food and Drug Administration Director General Eric Domingo said the government was still waiting for Pfizer BioNTech to submit an application for EUA for its COVID-19 vaccine for administration to the said age group. Pfizer has been granted by the United States FDA, European Medicines Agency and other countries EUA for children 5-11 years old.
Domingo earlier said Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac had expressed its intention to submit an EUA for the said age group after it has collated data on the safety of its Covid-19 vaccine for use among the younger population. Sinovac is being used to inoculate children 5 – 11 years old in China and Indonesia.
Robes said once Pfizer and/or Sinovac submitted their applications, the FDA should hasten the study and approval of these vaccines to ensure younger students are protected when they go back to school. Maricel V. Cruz