Should the government allow the use of coronavirus disease (COVID) vaccine booster shots for those vaccinated with China’s Sinovac jabs, the initial list of priority recipients may include the elderly, those with comorbidity and the healthcare workers, the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) vaccine expert panel (VEP) said.
VEP head Dr. Nina Gloriani said the list is not yet official and is still being discussed by the country’s health experts.
“Wala pang yung bago na sinasabing bakuna nila (Sinovac) pero icoconsider natin talaga yan baka kailangan. Ang sasabihin ko sa ngayon ang mas kinoconsider namin na magthird dose, mauuna ay yung mga may edad, may comorbidity o medyo mababa ang immune (They don’t have the new vaccine yet but we will consider that it might be necessary. What I will tell right now is that we are considering that those who will receive the third dose or those who will be prioritized are the elderly, those with comorbidity or those with lower immune system),” she said in an interview with TeleRadyo on Thursday night, July 22, when asked if those fully vaccinated with China's Sinovac vaccine should be given booster shots.
“Yun ang aking thinking, hindi pa ito opisyal. Ang thinking namin ay mauuna magbooster shot, third dose tayo, itong mababa ang immunity (That’s my thinking, it's not official yet. We’re thinking of giving booster shots to those with low immunity).”
Gloriani added healthcare workers, who belong to the A1 priority sector in the country’s vaccination program, were also being considered to be given the boost shots.
“Lahat ng high risk (All those who are high risk), meaning even the health care workers have to be given a third dose,” she said.
She said the A1 (workers in frontine health services), A2 (all senior citizens), and A3 (persons with comorbidities) will likely be part of the priority list for COVID-19 booster vaccination.
Related stories: https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/14/dosts-expert-panel-not-yet-recommending-covid-19-vaccine-mixing-booster-shots/