An adviser to the government pandemic task force urged fully-vaccinated individuals Tuesday to get their booster shots as only 10 million have received their additional doses ahead of Metro Manila and 38 other areas’ shift to the lowest alert level.
According to Dr. Ted Herbosa, around 63 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated so far.
Those who have received two doses three months prior may receive an additional shot in several drugstores, Herbosa said.
“You don’t have to pay. There’s no fee. You don’t have to be a resident, all you have to do is show your vaccination card,” he told ANC’s Headstart.
The booster shot allows one’s immune system to “produce more antibodies which gives protection to new variants like omicron, BA.2,” Herbosa said.
“We made it (booster shots) earlier to three months because we were having an omicron surge, but really after your second dose it’s after six months to 8 months is when it starts to wane… If you’re fully vaccinated your immunity does not disappear, but your antibodies wane,” he said.
There is no government mandate on getting a fourth shot, Herbosa said.
“There is no value, the scientific evidence shows no value in getting four shots,” he said.
Under Alert Level 1, vaccination cards will no longer be required in public transportation but are required in some establishments such as gyms, restaurants, bars, and other enclosed spaces, said Herbosa, citing a resolution of the Inter-Agency Task Force Against COVID-19.
It will be up to individuals to “self-regulate” under the lowest alert level, Herbosa said.
“We’re getting there but it’s still not over. We still had 900 (cases) yesterday. That’s the lowest since December. I do hope it stays this way with the opening up of restrictions and the campaign period unlike other countries, unlike Hong Kong which started a new wave,” he said.
Meanwhile, more than 135 million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered as of February 28, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
Some 93.38 percent of some 1.55 million healthcare workers have been fully vaccinated, while 62.82 percent of 9.4 million elderly and 92.51 percent of 14.5 million persons with comorbidities have been given complete doses, Vergeire said.
Meanwhile, some 736,880 children ages 5 to 11 and 9.5 million children ages 12 to 17 have received a COVID-19 jab, the DOH said.
Government has increased its vaccination target to 100 million or 80 percent of its eligible population.
The country has so far approved for emergency use nine brands of COVID-19 vaccine, Vergeire said. These brands are Astrazeneca,
Covaxin, Covovax, Janssen, Gamaleya, Moderna, Pfizer, Sinovac, and Sinopharm.
“It can lessen the transmission, it can also protect us from severe infection and deaths,” Vergeire told reporters.
Some 85 percent of virus patients admitted in intensive care units are unvaccinated, and “8 out of 10” hospitalized COVID-19 cases are unvaccinated, Vergeire said.
“Unvaccinated individuals have twice the risk of death due to COVID-19,” she said.
In other developments, some 769,860 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine shots donated by the US government arrived in the country Monday night.
The vaccines, donated through the COVAX vaccine-sharing program, arrived at 9:37 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The shipment was welcomed by US Chargé d’Affaires in Manila Heather Variava.
“I’d like to emphasize that even as the world is worried about global events and we face serious challenges around the world, the United States remains focused on the pandemic and how we can fight it with partners like the Philippines,” Variava said.
The donations brought the number of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the US to more than 29 million.
Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Security, Undersecretary Isidro Purisima was also at NAIA to receive the donation.
The Philippines started its COVID-19 vaccination program in March 2021.
The latest Pfizer vaccines for adults arrived as the country deescalates to Alert Level 1—the least restrictive community classification—starting March 1.
With the government preparing for the fourth round of Bayanihan, Bakunahan or National Vaccination Day this coming March, Senator Win Gatchalian is batting for the participation of schools and Department of Education (DepEd) field units to increase vaccination coverage in the pediatric population.
The re-electionist senator cited the crucial role of COVID-19 vaccination among learners to ensure the safe resumption of face-to-face classes. Gatchalian, who is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, has been pushing for the resumption of in-person learning to jumpstart the recovery of the education sector.
The fourth National Vaccination Day will prioritize senior citizens and the primary series for the pediatric population.
According to Gatchalian, tapping schools was an efficient way to identify and monitor learners who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Around 14 million learners aged 5-11 are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the DepEd said. The government targets to inoculate 15.56 million children in this age group.
The lawmaker added the fourth national vaccination day was an opportunity to ensure that eligible teachers can receive their booster shots, which can be administered three months after the second dose.
In a televised press briefing on February 24, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that only 28 percent of the eligible population have received their booster shots.
Only vaccinated teachers are allowed to participate in face-to-face classes, while vaccinated learners are given preference. Based on DepEd’s timeline, the “transitioning to new normal” starts during
School Year 2022-2023 where face-to-face instruction is institutionalized as part of the overall learning delivery system amidst the pandemic.
Based on estimates by the National Economic and Development Authority, the lack of face-to-face classes in the country for one year will
result in P11 trillion in productivity losses over the next 40 years.