According to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, the government’s decision on the proposal to add a booster dosage as a criterion for an individual to be declared completely vaccinated against COVID-19 could be revealed next week.
“Hopefully by next week,” Duque told Dobol B TV.
“Talaga naman kailangan ng booster, ang problema lang nating yung policy na isama siya sa completed vaccination [a booster dose is really needed, the only problem is including it in the policy on completed vaccination].”
The president’s entrepreneur adviser, Joey Concepcion, urged last week that the word “completely vaccinated” be revised to include individuals who have had a booster vaccine.
Experts, however, have rejected this suggestion, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
Duque appealed to specialists to “support” the idea, despite his confidence that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) would authorize it.
“Malamang i-allow yan (new policy) kasi gusto natin na ang proteksyon na taglay ng bakuna ay mas mahaba, at mangyayari lang ito kung may booster,” the DOH chief said.
“Yun ang direksiyon na tinatahak ng Department of Health at sana yung experts ay magkaisa at suportahan itong polisya na ito.”
Gov’t yet to decide on requiring COVID-19 booster shot – DOH
(The proposed policy is likely to be approved since we want the vaccine’s protection to the last longer, which booster shots can only achieve; this is the DOH’s direction, and I hope the experts agree.)
The move, according to Duque, is intended to encourage more people who are eligible to obtain their COVID-19 booster doses. According to him, only 12 million people out of 44 million who are eligible have received their booster shots.
According to Duque, the public should not wait for another COVID-19 surge to obtain their booster shots.
“Ngayon magandang magpa-booster kasi walang surge, maluwag ang vaccination centers [This is the best time to get booster shots because vaccination centers are not crowded],” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Myrna Cabotaje, Health Undersecretary and Chairperson of the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC), said the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) must give their approval before the government can begin administering the second booster shot or fourth dose to the public.
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