The country will allocate P45 billion to purchase COVID-19 booster shots in 2022, according to Malacañang.
According to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, this is part of the P270 billion funding proposal for the government’s COVID-19 pandemic response next year.
But if booster shots are needed earlier, a measure can be done.
“So titingnan po natin, dahil itong procurement natin ay sisipa po ‘yan as early as January, but puwede nating bilhin na ‘yan earlier if we need to dahil bagama’t nasa national budget po ‘yan, that is funded po by the multilateral lending agencies. So titignan natin kung meron talagang science that will require it, gagawan po ng paraan,” said Roque.
It is also possible to administer booster doses when 70 percent of the population is vaccinated against COVID-19, according to vaccine expert panel chairperson Dr. Nina Gloriani.
“Itong mga bakuna na mayroon tayo ngayon, may mga antibodies pa naman hanggang 6 months. Siguro at least 6 months ang titingnan natin diyan,” said Gloriani.
The Department of Health (DOH) is also considering providing booster shots for some sectors next year, but they are still waiting for the final recommendation of experts.
Gov’t to allocate P45 billion for COVID-19 booster shots in 2022
“One thing sure, we are going to have boosters for health workers and for the immunocompromised maybe next year, for the reason that the health care workers are the most at risk and ‘yung immunocompromised hindi naman kasi sila nakaka-mount ng adequate antibodies. How soon from the primary dose – ‘yun ang inaaral pa,” said DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje.
The United States will begin distributing COVID-19 booster shots to individuals 8 months after being fully vaccinated.
According to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, people will “likely” need a booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine within 12 months of getting fully vaccinated.
But according to the World Health Organization, COVID-19 booster shots are not yet needed based on the data.
The WHO also insists that the vaccination of vulnerable populations or those at risk when hit by COVID-19 must be completed first.
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