The rest of the children aged 12 to 17 will be able to get their Covid-19 booster shots in the coming days, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
On Wednesday, June 22, the government started administering booster shots to immunocompromised adolescents.
“Hindi natin patatagalin ang interval na ito. Maaring in two to three days, maguumpisa na rin ang rest of the 12 to 17 (The interval will not be that long. Maybe in two to three days, the booster vaccination for the rest of the aged 12 to 17 will also start),” said DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
The decision to start first with immunocompromised adolescents was part of their “operational strategy” to make the booster vaccination program more “organized” for this age group.
“Nag desisyon ang National Vaccination Operations Center na kailangan unahin ang immunocompromised sa ating mga ospital, habang naghahanda naman ang ating vaccination sites sa local governments (The National Covid-19 Vaccination Operations Center has decided to prioritize the immunocompromised in our hospitals, while our vaccination sites under the local governments are preparing ) for our 12 to 17 years old who are not immunocompromised,” said Vergeire.
Vergeire said that almost 9.5 million adolescents in the country are already fully-vaccinated against Covid-19.