Claiming that he was right to mandate Filipinos to get their coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine shots to delay the entry of the highly transmissible Omicron variant into the country, President Duterte a has sked Filipinos to “take advantage” of the abundant vaccine supply and get their booster shots.
The Chief Executive reckoned on Tuesday night, Dec. 21 that there is enough jabs for Filipinos to get their boosters, or an additional shot of the vaccine. The country began giving booster shots to all eligible adults because the vaccine efficacy wanes after six months.
But on Tuesday, the Department of Health (DOH) shortened the waiting time for booster shots from six months to just three months from the completion of the initial dosage of the vaccine.
“But there is enough vaccines now to give the people the boosters. That's what I'm saying all along. Take advantage now of the situation where we have us available, not I said in excess,” he said during his “Talk to the People” public briefing on Tuesday night, Dec. 21.
“Barely enough but we can start with the boosters because it would make your immune system—or the antibodies may be generated stronger because over time, it would really overwhelm the virus,” he added.
READ: PH to offer COVID booster jabs 3 months after 2nd vax shot—DOH
The President noted that his decision to push for the vaccination of Filipinos was a “good move” despite the “opposition posed by some sectors in our society".
“Now if you do not want to be vaccinated, we can always courteously ask you to go—do not go out of the house so that you will not be putting in jeopardy the rest of your neighborhood, the rest of your neighbors and everybody,” Duterte said.
He reiterated that the mandatory vaccination of the people can be insisted upon by the government. This is similar to the mandate in Canada that required the vaccination of all eligible citizens.
“The mandatory actually of vaccination can be insisted upon by the state on its people on the ground using—they are not the police —the police power of the state. Meaning to say to compel you whether you like it or not because your refusal or your continued refusal would really be a danger element there,” he explained.
The Philippines has so far only detected three cases of the Omicron variant, which has triggered horrific surges in other countries, particularly in the west. All three cases have since tested negative to COVID-19.
READ: ‘Depleted na pera’: Duterte reveals why he’s fearful of Omicron
More than 90 percent of the country is under alert level 2, owing to the low tally of new COVID-19 cases for the past two months.
On Tuesday, the country logged just 168 new cases, with a positivity rate of less than one percent. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a positivity rate of less than five percent.
Health experts believe Omicron is highly transmissible as is the case with new variants trying to compete with dominant variants. It can also evade immunity from past infections and two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
However, there is also reason to believe that it does not cause a more severe infection than Delta and the P1 variants.