An infectious diseases expert says that the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is already over.
Dr. Edsel Salvana adds that the number of deaths and severe cases have been low due to high vaccination rate.
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Salvana cited that even the cases tripled during the Omicron surge in January, the number of deaths became manageable as compared to the Delta surge in 2021.
“Doon pa lang, masasabi na natin na because of vaccines, the worst is really over for the pandemic. Pero of course, there is nothing that will stop the virus from continuing to mutate lalong-lalo na kung patuloy ‘yung transmission,” he said.
“Even if these are mild, even if these are asymptomatic, the virus can continue to evolve kaya kinakailangan patuloy ang ating pag-iingat . But in terms of deaths and severe disease, I think that the worst is over because of vaccination,” he added.
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The doctor added that the transmission will continue if Filipinos will remain unvaccinated or will not take their booster shots.
“The problem is the more infections occur, the more likely magkakaroon ng mutated virus, lalo na ‘yung nakaka-escape ng ating mga vaccines,” he pointed out.
