The Department of Health (DOH) said that the majority of the healthcare workers, who recently participated in a survey, were in favor of getting a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot if there is already sufficient evidence on its safety.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said they conducted a survey about the administration of booster shots last Sept. 15 to Sep. 21--- wherein, 10,525 healthcare workers participated in the said poll.
“Yung unang question sa survey natin, 'kayo ba interesado na makareceive ng booster dose’--at mataas po ang nakuha natin. More than 90 percent. Ang kasunod na katanungan, ‘kayo ba ay magpapa booster kung may sapat na ebidensya at nirerekomenda ng eksperto’--at mataas din po ang kanilang isinagot--more than 90 percent (The first question in our survey, 'are you interested in receiving a booster dose'-and we got a high score. More than 90 percent. The next question, ‘will you get a booster if there is enough evidence and it is recommended by experts’--and we got a high number of answers-more than 90 percent),” said Vergeire on Friday, Oct. 8.
Meanwhile, about 50 percent of the respondents expressed willingness to get booster shots without the recommendation of vaccine experts.
“So kung titingnan natin, talagang pinaniniwalaan naman po ang science and evidence among our healthcare workers (So if we look at it, our health workers really believe in science and evidence),” said Vergeire.
Vergeire said that there is still not enough evidence on the safety of booster shots.
“Napag-aralan na po ng ating mga eksperto itong booster doses or third doses. Nakapagbigay na rin po sila ng kanilang mga rekomendasyon at nakita po sa mga pag-aaral na isinagawa na wala pa pong sapat na ebidensya para magbigay tayo ng third doses sa ngayon (Our experts have studied these booster doses or third doses. They have also given their recommendations and studies have shown that so far, there is not enough evidence for us to give third doses). We cannot guarantee that these booster doses will really protect our healthcare workers,” she said.
However, the DOH is not closing its door on the possibility of administering booster shots.
“Definitely, hindi tayo sarado sa booster (we are not closing our doors to the use of booster shots). We also would like to recommend that but we need to complete the evidence,” said Vergeire.