The new variant of COVID-19, B117 or better known as the UK Variant, has been detected in the Philippines through one of the Filipino passengers of the Emirates Flight No. EK 332 that landed in the country on January 7, 2021 from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

According to the report of the Department of Health (DOH), the person of interest is a male resident from Quezon City who arrived from an 11-day business trip from UAE. He received results that he tested positive the following day, January 8, after undergoing quarantine and a swab test.

Reports also said that the person of interest was with a female partner who is currently being kept under strict quarantine and monitoring. The two were found to not have any exposure to a confirmed case prior to their trip to Dubai.

After undergoing several experiments and tests, researchers have concluded that the B117 UK Variant is said to have a transmission rate of 70% more than the old variant. 

Vaccines that are RNA-based like Pfizer (BioNTech) and AstraZeneca (Oxford) are said to still work as long as the virus does not mutate again. In the case that it does, the vaccines would need to undergo small changes.

Brandon Wrenn, a professor of vaccinology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine comments, “I’m sure that the Oxford group have already modified their vaccine design to include variants as they arise.”

As a call to action, the DOH and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) are working together to mitigate the transmission by expanding the contact tracing to third-generation close contacts for known B117 cases. All the confirmed cases under the variant will have to undergo a mandatory 14-day facility based quarantine

Sources:
Facebook,www.facebook.com/earthshakerph/photos/a.1978498088870985/3647024075351703/.Geddes, Linda. “The New UK Covid Variant: Your Questions Answered.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 Jan. 2021, http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jan/11/the-new-uk-covid-variant-your-questions-answered?fbclid=IwAR3FfkqInLcOLxlXuX9MxeYLMz_Z3NHWW4XUlGiuEqD7n0BOsnqZZ89BXWk.

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Ana Rufa Padua