Omicron BA.2.12 subvariant enters country PH to donate 5 million vaccine doses to Myanmar

4 NEWS // THE LASALLIAN RHEIMS

Omicron BA.2.12 subvariant enters country

ANDREW DELA PLANA

The first case of Omicron BA.2.12. in the country entered Baguio City last April 2 and had 44 close contacts, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

Omicron BA.2.12. is a subvariant of the highly transmissible Omicron variant and is considered to have a higher transmissibility rate. However, there are still no studies on whether it causes a more severe disease. The case was detected in a 52-year-old Finnish female who arrived on April 2 from Finland to conduct seminars in Quezon City and Baguio City. "As to the close contacts, she had nine close contacts in Quezon City. She also had five close contacts in Benguet and all of them are being closely monitored. Some of them were tested already, which turned out to be negative, "Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an interview with ABS-CBN News. "She had a total of 30 close contacts, near contacts in the airplane," she added. Most of the close contacts, however, were fully vaccinated and some even tested negative for COVID-19. The Finnish woman had then finished her seven-day isolation, was discharged, and had already returned to Finland on April 21. [R]

PH to donate 5 million vaccine doses to Myanmar

LANCE CRISOSTOMO

About five million doses of Sputnik V COVID vaccine is set to be donated by the Philippines to Myanmar upon getting clearance from Myanmar’s Red Cross Society, the Department of Health reported.

In a conference last May 2, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that five million Sputnik V vaccine doses that are close to its expiry are set to be given to Myanmar and will serve as the first donation of vaccines ever to be given by the country since the start of the pandemic. Vergeire added that the donation is made because Myanmar has only inoculated less than 50% of its total population with two doses of vaccine. As of the first week of May, over 147 million doses of vaccines are administered here in the Philippines with some 68 million already fully vaccinated and some 13 million already boosted. [R]

COMELEC, GMA News releases 2022

Voters Profile LANCE CRISOSTOMO

The Commission on Elections and GMA News Online “Eleksyon 2022” released the comprehensive report on the demographic profile of the Filipino voters for the 2022 National and Local Elections set on May 9.

From the estimated 65.7 million voters, 33.66 million or 51.19% are found to be female voters while 32.1 million or 48.81% are male voters. In terms of generation and age group, 13.11 million or 19.94% belong to the Generation Z or 18 – 25 years old age bracket, 23.94 million or 36.42% belong to the millennial generation or 26 – 41 years old age bracket, 16.77 million or 25.51% belong to the Generation X or 42 – 57 years old bracket while the remaining 11.92 million or 18.12 percent belong to the “boomer, silent, greatest generation and senior citizens” or 58 years old and above age bracket. In terms of the provinces with the most voters, Cavite ranked 2nd with 2, 302, 353 behind Cebu which ranked 1st with 3, 288, 778 voters and above Pangasinan which ranked 3rd with 2,096, 936 voters in the province. For more information regarding the upcoming elections, you may visit the Social Media pages and official Website of COMELEC. [R]