The country’s local health experts are not yet recommending the use of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine booster doses as there is still insufficient evidence that it is “going to be safe,” the Department of Health (DOH) said.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the matter on booster shots were discussed by the country’s health experts on Thursday, July 8.
“Unang-una, ang kanilang recommendation ay hindi pa. Hindi pa natin iyan ire-rekomenda. Kailangan pa ng mas maraming ebidensya para masabi natin na it's going to be safe (First of all, their recommendation is not yet. We are not going to recommend that yet. We need more evidence to say that it's going to be safe),” said Vergeire during an online forum on Friday, July 9.
“Kailangan pa ng mas maraming ebidensya para masabi natin na it's going to be safe. Ang ating primary consideration dito is safety. At hindi pa rin kasi nakakapag palabas ng mga studies na kumpleto para masabi natin that we need booster doses (We need more evidence to say that it's going to be safe. Our primary consideration here is safety. And no complete studies were released yet to say that we need booster doses),” she added.
The use of booster shots is dependent on the length of immunity that the vaccine provides, said Vergeire.
“Hanggang sa ngayon, wala pang manufacturer na nakakapagbigay talaga ng eksaktong sinabi nila na 'itong bakuna ko hanggang anim na buwan lang at kailangan mo ng ulitin.' Wala pang ganun na ebidensya (Until now, no manufacturer has been able to provide the exact duration of their vaccines. There is no such evidence yet),” she said.
The Health official asked the public to wait for the complete data on booster shots. She also asked the public to show “solidarity.”
“Let us have that kind of nationalistic spirit, solidarity. Marami pa sa ating mga kababayan ang hindi pa nababakunahan (Many of our citizens still remain unvaccinated),” she said.
“Ang ating goal ngayon ay mabakunahan the rest of the population bago natin pag isipan at irekomenda itong booster doses (Our goal now is to vaccinate the rest of the population before we recommend these booster doses),” she added.