Do not let your guard down

By Joshua Corcuera

We are now approaching the holidays with just a few days before Christmas. And what a good time it is, isn’t it? Daily reported cases of COVID-19 have plummeted to hundreds in recent days, restrictions are becoming less severe, life is slowly returning to normal. Then came Omicron.

The Omicron variant of COVID-19, named after the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet, has been making headlines this week. It was first identified on November 23 and was designated as a variant of concern due to the possibility that it can evade immunity. As the United Kingdom Health and Security Agency said, “it is the most worrying we’ve seen.” Likewise, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that Omicron poses a very high global risk.

As a matter of fact, this new variant is seen by many to be more contagious than the Delta variant which caused the last uptick in cases in our country. According to a report by British newspaper of record, The Guardian, scientists are alarmed that Omicron “has more than 30 mutations on its spike protein—more than double the number carried by Delta.”

This does not mean we should be extremely worried, however. Thanks to vaccines, we can have a sigh of relief. In fact, cases in the Philippines dropped largely due to vaccines. Have you noticed that, by the time only several hundred COVID-19 cases are being reported in the Philippines, our vaccination rate has soared to more than 40%? More importantly, our country has launched a three-day vaccination drive—from November 29 to December 1—which aims to vaccinate more than nine million people. Thus, the best way to fight these emerging variants is to get vaccinated when it’s your turn to be vaccinated. Vaccines work—they are safe and effective, just look at where we are right now.

It is also imperative to stay home when there is nothing important to do outdoors. I lament the fact that many small, innocent children are roaming in the streets of Manila—some even without face masks. While I was writing this article, I saw three children running on the street—one does not have a mask. Households should be strict as to the movements of their members, I suppose. Everyone’s safety is at stake here after all. For those who are working, going outside would be understandable as well as those who have some important business to do. Of course, do not forget the preventive measures against COVID-19—wear a face mask and observe physical distancing.

As a side note, it is essential to correct the circulating misinformation in social media that Omicron came from South Africa. Rather, it was South Africa that first managed to detect such variant. Recent samples have shown that the variant has been in Botswana, a country in Africa, already on November 11. And more samples are being collected which can reveal additional findings as to its origin.

Now that the holidays are approaching and 2021 will come to an end, let us not drop our guard down. We have made progress this past few weeks, we should not let such progress go to waste. By being responsible and compassionate people, we can safeguard our progress towards a safe society.