The Department of Health (DOH) is not considering at this time to require Covid-19 vaccine booster shots, particularly for people living in areas under the Alert Level 1 status.
Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje made the statement after Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion proposed that areas under the lowest alert status should mandate people to present their booster vaccination cards upon entering establishments.
“Naiintindihan natin kung saan ang perspektibo ng ating Presidential Assistant Joey Concepcion---gusto niya full protection. Pero sa ngayon ang ating gagawin ay magbigay tayo ng information at pakikiusapan sa mga booster (We understand the perspective of our Presidential Assistant Joey Concepcion --- he wants full protection. But for now, we will focus on providing information and encouraging those who are eligible to get the booster),” said Cabotaje during a public briefing on Saturday, March 5.
“Habang ang hesitancy ay bumaba, walang urgency yung pagpapabooster kasi karamihan---sapat na yung two dose at saka yung 'no vax, no entry' hanggang two dose. Ang gagawin natin ay i-strengthen natin yung advocacy (While the hesitancy has dropped, there is no urgency when it comes to taking the booster because some people think that two doses are enough and those who completed the first two-doses are exempted in the 'no vax, no entry' policy. What we are going to do is to strengthen the advocacy),” she added.
Concepcion said that his proposal will encourage more people to get their booster doses.
“Sana (I hope) we can implement the booster vax cards upon entry in restaurants,” said Concepcion in a public briefing on Friday, March 4.
“Pero out there who are hesitant, I think we should encourage them by mandating that they show their vaccine cards, upon entry in the areas that are Alert Level 1 and those areas who have finished already iyong (the) primary doses,”he added.
Cabotaje said that they need to ramp up the booster shot vaccination. Based on the government’s National Vaccination Dashboard, a total of 63,681,927 Filipinos are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19. However, only 10,476,652 individuals have so far received their booster shots as of March 5.
“Our health promotions bureau kasama ng ating mga ahensya ng pamahalaan, lalong-lalo na ang DILG , and other partners from the private sector ay pagiibayuhin yung (together with the other government agencies, especially the DILG, and other partners from the private sector will intensify the) communication advocacy to increase the uptick of booster,” said Cabotaje.
“Ang kampanya sa buwan ng Marso (Our campaign this March) is to bring the information and the vaccines to the homes and workplaces,” she added.