No need to worry over ‘mutations of concern,’ DOH says

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health on Saturday sought to allay fears over the two “mutations of concern” detected in Central Visayas, saying that further studies are still being conducted on these.

“Our countrymen should not worry about these because they’re still being studied. We’re still checking if these can be classified as new variants,” DOH spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire told state-run People’s Television in Filipino.

Vergeire explained that for these to be considered as new variants, “five or seven” mutations should be seen in the genetic sequence of the virus.

She added that they would submit the two mutations, identified as E484K and N501Y, to the World Health Organization, which would say whether these are linked to already-existing variants.

E484K is found in variants that emerged in South Africa and Brazil, while N501Y is found in the variant that was first identified in the United Kingdom.

Mutations are changes in the genetic code of a virus. Viruses, like SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19, mutate all the time.

The WHO said some mutations may result in the virus being more transmissible, increase in disease severity or influence efficacy of diagnostics or vaccines.

Meanwhile, a changed virus is called a variant of the original virus.

Health officials have said that further investigation is needed to determine the public health implications of the two mutations. It also remains unclear if these will develop into a variant unique to the Philippines.

Vergeire, however, said the two mutations found in Central Visayas is “probably” a factor in the spike in cases in the region, but added that the increase in cases may have also been brought about by the easing of coronavirus curbs.

The discovery of the two mutations, along with the continued threat of more infectious variants, come as the government is mulling over whether to open up the economy further by loosening quarantine restrictions.

The government’s pandemic task force is bent on putting the entire country under the laxest quarantine regime by March, despite the country recording an average of 1,500 new COVID-19 cases a day since November and having no vaccines yet.

“We’ve been under strict lockdown for almost a year and we have to look at the other side of the fence also, and that is our economy. We see that there are also health consequences for a poor economy,” Vergeire said. — Xave Gregorio