The Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP) on Friday, March 18, supported the recommendation of the vaccine expert panel of the National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 to administer fourth dose or second booster shot to elderlies and people with comorbidities.
On March 4, NTF against Covid-19 Adviser Dr. Teodoro “Ted” J. Herbosa said the recommendation of the panel has already been forwarded to their technical working group.
Dr. Imelda M. Mateo, the president of PCCP, said they agree with the with the recommendation of the panel.
“So iyon po iyong vaccine expert panel recommendation, and we concur to that. We support that po dahil nakikita na ho namin kung anong puwedeng maging long-term effect sa baga kung magkakaroon ng severe to critical Covid-19 po ang mga taong mayroon nang pre-existing pulmonary problem ( So that’s the vaccine expert panel recommendation, and we concur to that. We support that because we see its long-term effect to the lungs if a person with pre-existing pulmonary problem will get infected with severe to critical Covid-19),” he said during a “Laging Handa” briefing.
Mateo cited the experience of Israel which administered second booster shot to over half a million individuals
“Tingnan po natin, kasi ang Israel po ay mayroon silang experience (Let’s look on the experience of Israel). They gave, for example, as of ano po ito, February 2022, 500,050,000 received the fourth dose already,” she said.
According to her, Cambodia, Denmark, and Sweden are also considering to offer the fourth dose to specific group.
The said countries are considering the second booster shot because of a study that showed it showed that getting the fourth jab gives additional protection from the dreaded disease, Mateo said.