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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Will the public need COVID-19 booster shot? Vaccine expert says it's too soon to know

Will the public need COVID-19 booster shot? Vaccine expert says it's too soon to know

Published Jul 12, 2021 01:53 pm

A vaccine expert on Monday, July 12, said coronavirus disease (COVID-19) booster shots should be investigated, studied, and recommended by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first.

(JUAN CARLO DE VELA / MANILA BULLETIN)

With the more transmissible Delta variant becoming the dominant COVID-19 strain, American pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer announced that it is making a booster shot for its COVID-19 vaccine.

The booster shot will target the highly contagious Delta mutation, which has spread to over 100 countries.

However, Dr. Lulu Bravo, executive director of the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination, said that studies on use of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots are not enough.

"The FDA should be the one to make the recommendation, our vaccine experts need to study that first, not the company or business entity," Bravo said during the Laging Handa briefing.

"We have a lot to discuss about the booster. The availability of our vaccines, we haven't even inoculated 50 percent of our population, so will we first give booster shots? Maybe not yet," she added.

As of July 11, 9,669,940 individuals have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 3,526,342 have completed the second dose.

The Philippines is targeting to vaccinated 70 percent of its population in 2021 to achieve herd immunity.

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