Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) Chairperson Dr. Nina Gloriani, on Friday, July 1 called on the national government to consider the administration of a second booster jab to individuals aged 50 to 59.
“Actually, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been following this standard in other countries. For instance, the administration of second booster to those 50 years old and above already has the United States’ approval. We also want to use that same recommendation, of course, individuals aged 50 years old and above are more vulnerable than the younger ones,” said Gloriani in a “Laging Handa” public briefing.
Currently, only senior citizens, health workers, and immunocompromised adults are allowed to receive a second Covid-19 vaccine shot in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, despite the rising number of infections and lingering threat of Covid-19, Gloriani said that the administration of a second booster jab to those who are below 50 years of age may be postponed.
“Clearly yung sa mga younger than 50 ay pwedeng ipagpaliban muna natin. Padamihan muna natin yung first booster, meron pa tayong 40 million na hahabulin sa first booster because very clear po ang data na kailangan natin ng at least three doses pero yung second booster ay pwede pa nating hintayin ang more data about that pero may specific population groups that we also have to consider (Clearly, the administration of second booster to those who are younger than 50 can be postponed. Instead, let us increase the number of Filipinos who have received the first booster jab – we still have 40 million to inoculate because the data is very clear that we need at least three doses. As for the second booster, we can still wait for more data, but there are specific population groups that we also have to consider),” the expert furthered.
The Department of Health’s (DOH) National Covid-19 Vaccination Dashboard showed that 70,781,234 Filipinos have already completed their primary vaccine doses as of June 30. Of this number, only 14,993,876 individuals have so far been boosted against the disease.