Inaprubahan na ng gobyerno ang P295.7 na milyong budget para sa expansion ng operasyon ng Philippine Genome Center (PGC) sa Visayas at Mindanao, ayon sa Department of Health (DOH).
Ayon kay DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III nitong Biyernes, Agosto 27, makatutulong ang genome sequencing para sa pagtugon ng bansa sa COVID-19.
“We will continue to assist the UP-PGC in any way we can. Additionally, we could not have done this without the help of the DBM who is kind enough to provide us with this budget,” ani Duque.
“By strengthening the country’s biosurveillance capacity, we hope to prevent future outbreaks of diseases in the Philippines,” dagdag pa niya.
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Anang DOH, importante ang buong genome sequencing upang madetect ang presensya ng mga bagong variants sa bansa, upang malaman kung nagiging sanhi ito ng pagtaas ng kaso sa isang lugar at kung mayroon nang local transmissions ng mga COVID-19 variants.
“Aside from detecting COVID-19 variants, genomic biosurveillance plays a big role in determining causes of outbreaks, tracking how a virus is transmitted, and complementing disease surveillance in guiding the overall public health response even beyond the COVID-19 pandemic,” ayon sa DOHAnalou de Vera
