Pateros Mayor Miguel Ponce III announced that the administration of the second Covid-19 booster shot in Pateros and the rest of the National Capital Region will start on Monday, April 25.
“We had talks about the start of the administration of the second booster here in Metro Manila on Monday,” he said in a live broadcast on Facebook on April 23.
He said they are just waiting for the written guidelines from the Department of Health and the second booster will be given at the AMC Gym in Barangay San Roque in Pateros. Watsons will also help in giving first and second booster shots, he added.
Ponce said the second booster will be given to a person three months after receiving his first booster shot.
The mayor said those eligible to get the second booster shot are health workers (A1) and senior citizens (A2).
However, Health Usec. Maria Rosario Vergeire announced on April 22 that only those who are immunocompromised aged 18 and above will be the first to be given the second booster.
She said giving booster shots to healthcare workers and senior citizens will follow as soon as the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) completes its assessment.
“Maybe by next week, we can issue a recommendation and we can start in the next week,” she said.
The vaccine brands that will be used for the second booster are AstraZeneca, CoronaVac (Sinovac), Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Sinopharm.
HTAC announced on April 22 that “the Secretary of Health (SOH) approved the HTAC recommendation on April 21 to finance a fourth dose of COVID-19 Vaccines AstraZeneca, CoronaVac, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Sinopharm among the immunocompromised population (ICPs) ages 18 years old and above given at least 3 months after the third dose, and include these vaccines in the Philippine National Deployment and Vaccination Plan for COVID-19 (NDVP).”
It added, “While the said vaccines are recommended for a fourth dose, the HTAC has preference for mRNA vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) based on the available real world evidence on the immunogenicity and safety of a fourth dose among the ICPs who include the following:
- Individuals who have been receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood
- Individuals who had received an organ transplant and are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
- Individuals who received a stem cell transplant within the last 2 years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system
- Individuals with moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
- Individuals with advanced or untreated HIV infection
- Individuals with active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress immune response
- Individuals on chronic dialysis
- People living with autoimmune disease, and treatment with specific immunosuppressive medications
- Individuals diagnosed with conditions that are considered to have an equivalent level of immunocompromise as advised by the physician (e.g., severe malnutrition).”