Existing vaccines against COVID-19 are effective against the new Omicron subvariant JN.1, the Department of Health said on Monday.
“We have yet to receive evidence that the vaccines we received, even the new vaccines available in other countries, do not offer protection,” Health Undersecretary Eric Tayag said in a television interview.
The Health department on Sunday confirmed that the rapidly spreading subvariant of the coronavirus has already entered the Philippines, with the first 18 cases detected through genome sequencing.
The DOH urged Filipinos to observe multiple layers of protection, including masking up, ensuring good airflow and adequate ventilation, and getting vaccinated.
Tayag said while all 18 cases have already recovered, the DOH remains vigilant against the subvariant.
“We are still monitoring it because JN.1 has been declared a variant of interest by the World Health Organization,” he said.
Tayag, however, said the DOH does not see the need to bring back the mandatory wearing of face masks.
For his part, Philippine College of Physicians president Dr. Rontgene Solante said the symptoms of JN.1 infection do not differ from those of flu-like illnesses.
Solante said these include coughs, fever and sore throat that usually last from three to five days.
“It’s hard to differentiate JN.1 from other influenza-like illness symptoms,” he said.
The subvariant JN.1 now makes up 44.2 percent of the COVID-19 cases in the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
CDC data estimates indicated the quickly spreading variant is now causing almost half of infections nationwide, when just days ago it was estimated that JN.1 caused only about 20 percent of infections.
Globally, JN.1 continued to be reported in multiple countries, and its prevalence has been rapidly increasing. With Macon Ramos-Araneta
