Pinawi ng isang infectious disease expert ang pangamba hinggil sa bagong natuklasang COVID-19 variant mula sa Vietnam.
Batay sa mga ulat, ang variant ay sinasabing hybrid ng mga nakakahawang variants na unang na-detect sa India at United Kingdom.
Ayon kay Dr. Edsel Salvaña, ang variant mula sa Vietnam ay hindi pa maituturing na variant of concern.
“We need to study very well whether this really is a hybrid or if it’s really just another variant that acquired these mutations in the course of natural mutation and that does not necessarily translate to increased transmissibility or decrease susceptibility to our vaccines,” sabi ni Dr. Salvaña.
Inihalintulad niya ito sa P.3 variant na nadiskubre sa Pilipinas na kasalukuyan pa ring variant under investigation.
“For instance, P3, which is our own variant that was discovered in the Philippines doesn’t seem to be a variant of concern now because the number of cases has not really skyrocketed,” sabi ni Salvaña.
Una nang sinabi ni Vietnam Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long na ang bagong variant ay “sobrang mapanganib.”
