Bivalent Covid-19 vaccine can protect vs. FE.1

BIVALENT CORONAVIRUS disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines could provide substantial protection against the FE.1 Omicron subvariant, an infectious disease expert said Tuesday.

“’Yung bisa ng bivalent vaccines dito sa XBB, there is substantial protection, hindi naman talaga totally zero, hindi rin naman ganun kataas (The effectiveness of bivalent vaccines against the XBB [subvariants] is substantial, not totally zero, though not that high either),” Dr. Rontgene Solante said in a televised public briefing.

While there is no data yet on the testing of bivalent vaccines’ effectiveness against the subvariant, Solante, president of the Philippine College of Physicians, noted that the jabs would be beneficial for the vulnerable population, such as health care workers, individuals with co-morbidities, and senior citizens.

On Monday, the country detected its first case of FE.1 subvariant as shown in the Department of Health’s (DOH) biosurveillance report reflecting the genome sequencing results from May 29 to June 12.

The DOH said the FE.1 is a sublineage of the Omicron XBB and has been detected in 35 countries or jurisdictions across six continents.

There is no evidence yet stating that it is more contagious, can cause severe infections, or is vaccine immunity-evasive, Solante said.

He said it could cause mild symptoms as it lives in the upper respiratory tract just like most of the new variants, unlike the Delta, which rests in the lower respiratory tract.

He added that it has similar clinical manifestations as the Omicron – coughs, colds, body aches, and pains – which would not lead to severe forms of infection among young people.

“We should not panic. For almost two years, maganda ang health care utilization rate natin (we have good health care utilization rate),” Solante said.

However, the public, especially the vulnerable population should wear masks when needed and have their vaccination status updated because immunity from jabs wanes four to six months after inoculation, he added. (Ma. Teresa Montemayor)