The Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) urged fully vaccinated adults to get their booster shots against Covid-19 amid concerns over the Omicron XE variant.
PCP President Dr. Maricar Limpin said cases could spike again if this new variant of Covid-19 virus enters the Philippines.
“Ang iniisip natin baka mga May tumaas dahil ho sa possible na baka pumasok dito yung bagong variant na Omicron at pangalawa, medyo matumal ang ating booster (We are concerned as there is a possibility that cases may increase again in May if this new Omicron variant enters here, and our booster coverage remains low),” said Limpin in an interview over DZBB radio on Sunday, April 10/
At present, Limpin said they have yet to observe an increase in Covid-19 cases.
“Wala pa naman tayong nakikita sa ngayon. Pero ang ng ineexpect natin sa dami ho ng taong nakalabas, tapos syempre yung kampanya ngayon na nagyayari sa atin, so ineexpect natin na kung makapasok dito yung bagong variant then definitely baka magkaroon tayo ng muling pagtaas ng mga kaso (We have not observed . But given the number of people going out and amid campaign activities, then we are expecting an increase in cases if the new variant enters here),” she said.
Limpin said the public should learn to live with the virus. To achieve this, the people should get protected by completing their vaccination and still follow the minimum health standards such as wearing a face mask.
She also stressed that the protection from the primary vaccine series is waning over time.
“Please, lumabas po kayo at kuhain po ninyo ang inyong booster shots. And on top of that, kailangan pa rin pong magsuot ng face mask (Please, come out and get your booster shots. And on top of that, you still need to wear a face mask),” she said.
The PCP official suggested to the government to issue separate vaccination cards for booster and primary vaccination series to encourage more people to get boosted.
“Ang amin talagang nire-recommend ay magkaroon talaga ng separate na booster card. Unang-una, kailangan nating ipahatid sa lahat mamamayang Pilipino na importante na makuha nila itong booster shots nila (What we really recommend is to have a separate card for boosters. First of all, we need to convey to all Filipinos that it is important for them to get these booster shots),” she said.