Central Visayas Variant A No-Go For Central Visayas Officials
P3 VARIANT – Earlier, health officials discovered a local COVID-19 strain initially found in Central Visayas.
Since then, the variant has been named “P.3” with the DOH staying away from calling it the “Philippine Variant“. According to the health department, naming variants according to the country they’re from echoes discrimination. As such, the P.3 variant was created.
However, there were recent talks to rename P.3. into the “Central Visayas Variant” or “CVV”. Due to this, Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, DOH-7 spokesperson said:
“Here we are, we have a P.3 variant. Why rename it as a Central Visayas Variant? Are we a separate place from the entire Philippines? It shouldn’t be like that”
Loreche explained that she had received word from media personnel that there were reports of publication materials from the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) referring to the P.3 strain as the CVV instead of the “Philippine Variant”.
Likewise, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia echoed Loreche’s remark. According to an article from Inquirer, Garcia said that renaming it to CVV is “reckless and unfair”.
“I would caution those that have taken it upon themselves to call this strain of concern as Central Visayas, unless they really believe Central Visayas or Cebu for that matter is another country”
Additionally, Presidential Assistant to the Visayas Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino emphasized that he and Loreche would write an official letter to the DOH central office to seek clarification. Moreover, they would like the national government to “rectify the error”.
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