THE Department of Health (DOH) recorded 14 cases of Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1 in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Palawan, DOH spokesperson Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Friday, May 13, 2022.Vergeire said two of the cases were from Metro Manila. They have been fully vaccinated and have received booster doses.The two cases have already been tagged as recovered following home isolation.The NCR cases have 39 close contacts who are so far asymptomatic following exposure.Vergeire said of the 12 cases in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, 11 were foreign tourists, while one was a Filipino. They have already been tagged as recovered.The BA.2.12.1, which was first detected in the United States (US) in December 2021, is said to be responsible for the spike of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases and hospitalization in New York in early April.Based on the recent estimate of the Center for Disease Control, from May 1 to 7, 42.6 percent of the cases in the US were BA.2.12.1 subvariant.Preliminary studies showed that the said subvariant is most likely to exhibit immune evasion, although there is no evidence yet that shows it causes more severe infection. (SunStar Philippines)