Presidential Adviser on Entrepreneurship Jose 'Joey' Concepcion III said that the government should start requiring booster cards by June this year, noting the waning immunity of those who have yet to get their additional dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
“We need this push,” he said.
“Right now, there is no danger. The danger is in the next semester when the waning immunity might be felt already. And this is not counting the possibility that new variants might emerge,” he added.
Concepcion said that the booster card requirement could start by June this year to give the people more time to be vaccinated.
“We do not implement it right away,” he said.
“I understand it will take time for them to get the booster, but considering that vaccines are now more accessible, people are free to move around, and we have adequate supply, I think two and a half months, or until June, would be enough time to take the boosters,” he added.
Concepcion has been calling on the government to make booster cards the new requirement, replacing vaccination cards as the document needed for entry into enclosed establishments and other spaces.
The Go Negosyo founder sees the move to speed up booster vaccinations and address the expiry of vaccines in stock. According to a recent report, around 27 million doses, part of which were purchased by the private sector, would expire by July this year.
The proposal was earlier backed by National Task Force (NTF) adviser Dr. Ted Herbosa, who noted that while the country has a “good vaccination record,” considering more than 65 million of its citizens have been fully vaccinated, only 11.8 million individuals have received their boosters.
Dr. Herbosa noted that it would be good to encourage and incentivize people to take their booster shots and that such an effort would help the government administer vaccines that are about to expire.
Leaders of Philippine business groups also backed the proposal for mandatory booster cards. Also supporting the proposal are business people representing franchising and retail groups.
Concepcion observed that the Philippines is currently one of the few countries in Asia spared from a surge in cases. However, as the country has started opening its borders to foreign visitors, it might increase the risk of a possible surge in cases.
Meanwhile, even though the increased mobility and the mass gathering of people at political rallies have, so far, not increased the number of Covid-19 cases, Concepcion believes this might be lulling people into complacency and causing them to put off vaccinations and boosters.
Aside from this, Concepcion expressed concern that the government might not prioritize vaccinations if the vaccines would just expire, considering it has already spent billions of dollars in pandemic response spending.
“Our vaccines will not last until the end of the year, and we need to encourage Filipinos to do their duty and take their boosters,” he said.
“We need to encourage the incoming administration that, by buying vaccines for the people and the people are willingly taking it, it is not throwing good money after bad by buying vaccines,” he added.
Concepcion said that if there was anything the country has learned from its more than two years of keeping this pandemic under control, it is that addressing the crisis must be done together.
"We can’t leave anyone behind, and we can’t leave anything to chance,” he said.