The Department of Health (DOH) reported 147 additional Omicron subvariant cases in the country based on the latest sequencing results as of August 24.
Meanwhile, a lawmaker from Bicol region on Saturday urged concerned government agencies to coordinate with local governments in their effort to intensify the COVID-19 vaccination program in schools.
At least 139 cases of the BA.5 Omicron subvariant have been detected, according to data released by the DOH on Friday.
Of these cases, 45 were reported from the Davao Region, 37 from Calabarzon, 17 from Soccsksargen, 13 from the Bicol Region, six from the Ilocos Region, five from the National Capital Region (NCR), three each from Central Luzon and Central Visayas, two each from Cagayan Valley and from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and one each from Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, and Northern Mindanao, while three were returning overseas Filipinos.
The DOH also reported six additional BA.4 cases, of which three came from the Bicol, two from Soccsksargen, and one from the Davao Region.
One individual from the Ilocos Region reportedly tested positive for the BA.2.12.1 variant.
The DOH said one case from “other sublineages” was also detected.
The BA.4 and BA.5 were added to the World Health Organization’s monitoring list in March and designated as variants of concern by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Meanwhile, the BA.2.12.1 was also flagged by the United States Center for Disease Control due to the observed increasing cases in the United States.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte made the appeal to the Department of Education and the DOH to closely coordinate with the LGUs as schools have reopened in-person classes amid reports that more than 22 million students and teachers have yet to get their full or partial anti-coronavirus shots.
“I am appealing to local executives together with the education and health officials to act in concert on further ramping up the vax drive to make sure our schools do not become fertile grounds for possible superspreaders among our students and their parents and teachers,” Villafuerte said in a statement.
He said “the need for these officials and institutions to work together in ramping up the vaccination drive in schools in the midst of disturbing reports from the DepEd and DOH that more than 22 million students and teachers have not been fully or even partially vaccinated against COVID-19.”
Villafuerte said this united action is the effective response to contain the spread of the virus in the schools.
“This is something that we should not take lightly in the face of the lingering public health emergency,” Villafuerte said.
He cited initial DepEd data showing that only about 5.66 million students in kindergarten, elementary and high school have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and only 5,285,437 received a second jab—translating into 20.55% and 19.18%, respectively, of the 27.560 million students who were enrolled in basic education last year.
Separately, DepEd Undersecretary Epimaco Densing said at a Senate education committee inquiry that as of Aug. 3, only some 27 percent of kids aged 5 to 11 have been fully vaccinated, while 76 percent of those aged 12 to 17 were fully inoculated.
As for teachers, Densing said at the same hearing that about 37,000 or 4 percent of 883,000 public school teachers have not been fully vaccinated yet while another 20,000 are to get their second dose.
This leaves 17,000, said Densing, “who still refuse to be vaccinated.”
Villafuerte agreed with Densing that public schools should hold regular vaccination-counseling sessions in a bid to convince unvaccinated or partially inoculated students, teachers, and parents to complete their anti-coronavirus shots or have their booster jabs.