The Muntinlupa City government has administered the first Covid-19 booster shot to 40 immunocompromised 12 to 17 years old.
The local government started giving the first booster shot, or third dose, to the adolescent population last June 24 after the Department of Health (DOH) released the guidelines.
In Muntinlupa, there are 56,499 minors aged 12 to 17. As of June 25, 40,977 have been fully vaccinated or 72.53 percent of the total population for the age group.
According to the DOH, immunocompromised children can get their booster shots 28 days after receiving their second dose in the primary series.
The Pfizer vaccine will be the only brand to be used for immunocompromised children, which has an emergency use authorization from the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In a press statement on June 28, the DOH said the National Covid-19 Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) is set to administer the first booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to the rest of the 12 to 17 years old. They can get the booster shot five months after receiving the second dose of the primary series.
“NVOC would like to thank our esteemed colleagues in the HTAC for their support in boosting our wall of immunity. We appreciate their work as experts ensuring the most cost-effective and beneficial use of our health resources,” said Health Usec. Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire, who is the incoming NVOC incident manager.
She added, “NVOC will be releasing implementation guidelines very soon.”