The Taguig City government started administering COVID-19 booster shots and third doses to fully vaccinated senior citizens (classified under A2 priority group) and persons with comorbidities (A3) on Nov. 23.
During the first day of administration held at SM Aura Mega Vaccination Hub in Bonifacio Global City, 141 people consisting of 25 senior citizens and 116 persons with comorbidities were given the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Sinovac Life Sciences’ CoronaVac vaccines as booster shots and third doses.
A report by the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) of the Department of Health (DOH) stated that a booster shot is “a dose needed to address waning immunity over time in healthy individuals with sufficient immune response after the primary series.”
“Additional dose vaccination,” on the other hand, refers to “immunocompromised individuals whose immune response may be insufficient.”
In a media briefing last Nov. 22, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said all senior citizens will be given the booster shots while only those immunocompromised persons with comorbidities will receive third doses at the moment.
“All senior citizens are eligible for booster doses and only those in the list for immunocompromised will be part of the priority or eligible for third doses now. The rest of the A3 or those with comorbidities, sa next phase pa po sila,” she said.
According to the DOH, the immunocompromised A3 eligible to get third doses of the vaccine are those with immunodeficiency state, people living with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), active cancer or malignancy, transplant patients and patients under immunosuppressive treatments.
Immunocompromised is someone who has a “weakened immune system,” according to the US National Cancer Institute.
As of Nov. 23, the DOH reported that 70,500 individuals have received booster shots all over the Philippines.
According to the DOH, those who were fully vaccinated with CoronaVac, AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Sputnik V can get booster shots after at least six months while those who got the single-dose Janssen vaccine can receive it after at least three months.
People who were fully vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine can be given Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Pfizer or Moderna as their booster shot.
For Pfizer-BioNTech, it is Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca or Moderna, and for AstraZeneca, it can be AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna,
For Moderna, it is Moderna, AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech, and for Sputnik V, the recommended is AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.
Those who got the Janssen vaccine will be given AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.