A health expert, on Sunday, April 3, said that he is in favor of mandating booster Covid-19 shots, especially for on-site workers that will “carry” the country’s economy.
Health reform advocate and former special adviser of the National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 Dr. Anthony “Tony” Leachon said that the government should mandate the booster vaccination against Covid-19.
“Bago natin i-donate dapat gamitin muna natin kasi hindi pa kumpleto ang ating primary vaccines. Nasa 63 million pa lang tayo at ang boosters natin ay . Ang tunay na definition ng full vaccination ay dapat tatlong doses, kaya ang Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ay nagsasabi na dapat ay three doses (Before we donate the vaccines, we must use them first because our primary vaccines are not yet complete. We are only at 63 million and our boosters are still low. The true definition of full vaccination should be three doses, so the CDC says it should be three doses),” said Leachon in an interview over DZRH.
Meanwhile, he reiterated that the Department of Health (DOH) should revise the country’s definition of “fully vaccinated.”
“Ang unang dapat gawin ng government, particularly ang Department of Health (DOH), through the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC), ay ideklara na ang complete vaccination ay tatlong doses. Marami sa mga kababayan natin akala nila pagkatapos ng dalawang doses ay tapos na. Ang kailangan po natin ay tatlong doses at dapat ay i-require ito ng DOH through the NVOC, sabihin sa (IATF) para sa ganon ay mai-mandato ito (The first thing the government, particularly the DOH, through the NVOC, should do is to declare that complete vaccination is three doses. Many Filipinos thought that two vaccine doses is enough, but what we need is three doses and the DOH should require it through the NVOC and tell IATF for it to be mandated),” said Leachon.
The health expert added that the country lacks a concrete vaccine education, adding that many became complacent when the number of infections in the country declined.
However, with the ongoing global Covid-19 surges and waning vaccine immunity proven in Israel and America, Leachon stated that no one should be complacent and get boosted instead.
Furthermore, as he campaigns for mandatory booster Covid-19 vaccines for on-site workers, he added that this should also be mandated in schools and institutions before the implementation of the target face-to-face classes in 2022.
“Ang missing link natin ngayon ay nasa elderly, marami pa ang hindi nakakapag pa bakuna considering na sila po ay vulnerable. Number two ay ang ating mga less than 18 lalo na ‘yung mga five to 12, e magpapasukan na sa July. Agree ako with Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion na dapat ay i-mandato na ‘yung tatlong doses para ma-protektahan ang ating mga empleyado, economic sector, as well as our medical frontliners (Currently, our missing link is with the elderly. Many are still not vaccinated considering that they are vulnerable. Number two are those below 18 years old, especially those five to 12 who will go back to school in July. I agree with Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Concepcion that three doses should be mandated to protect our employees, economic sector, as well as our medical frontliners),” he added.
As of March 30, 2022 only 12,018,418 individuals in the country have so far been boosted against Covid-19.