MANILA - There is not much difference between the omicron variant and its "stealth" subvariant, the Department of Health said Wednesday as it announced another death following infection of the highly transmissible lineage.

The omicron was now predominant in Metro Manila and other regions, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier said.

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The country has detected both omicron's sub lineages, BA.1 and BA.2 or the "stealth omicron," she said.

"Base sa obserbasyon sa ngayon (Based on current observation) all over the world, we are observing there is not much difference," she told ANC's Headstart.

The difference between the two only lies on the number of mutations, according to Dr. Rontgene Solante, head of adult infectious diseases at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila.

The BA.1 has more than 60 mutations while the BA.2 has around 85 mutations, Solante said.

"That’s why in some of these articles before it was called stealth omicron because it was not readily detected with the test. You need sequencing in order for you to identify specific mutations," he said.

"For the behavior of the virus, if it’s more severe than omicron I don’t think it will cause severe (disease)."

The omicron variant should not be dismissed even if it seems to infect patients with mild symptoms, Vergeire said.

"We cannot put some lighter weight para sa omicron because it has lighter symptoms because it can be severe," she said.

At least three individuals have died following omicron infection, Vergeire said.

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"These 3 individuals na namatay with omicron, yung isa po hanggang sa ngayon we're verifying if vaccinated or not. The other 2 were not vaccinated," she said.

(These 3 individuals who died with omicron, we're still verifying if one was vaccinated or not.)

The public is urged to get vaccinated and boosted to avoid more transmission that can lead to more mutations of coronavirus, according to Solante.

Vergeire, meantime, told those seeking a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine to "be patient" as there is not enough data that calls for it.

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"I advise people let’s wait, let’s be patient, dadating po tayo dyan (we'll get there). Science is evolving. What I can tell you is the national government already has this allotted budget for additional vaccine if and when fourth dose is allowed," she said.