The term "fully vaccinated" against Covid-19 still applies to those who got the two-dose primary series of vaccination, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Tuesday, Sept. 13.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. did not approve to redefine the term or to include the first booster shot in its definition, said DOH Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire.
“We have already recommended this to the President. And the President advised us na ‘wag muna (not to do it for now) because it’s going to cause more confusion, especially now that marami na tayong polisiya na pinapalabas (we have several policies being released),” said Vergeire in a press briefing.
“Sabi nya (He said), let's intensify our efforts to improve vaccination on the ground. Baka mas mahikayat pa natin sila (Maybe we can encourage them more) by doing the incentive and disincentive scheme,” she added.
The DOH asked the other government agencies to implement policies that will help improve the vaccination efforts during the recent Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) meeting, said Vergeire.
“Halimbawa sa mga nagpupunta sa local tourist destinations, baka sakali na pwede na hihingan sila ng card na may booster dose na sila para sila ay makarating sa ibang lugar (For example, maybe they can ask people to present their booster card before they can visit local tourist destinations),” said the DOH official.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) may also give “extra perks” for boosted individuals visiting tourist spots, Vergeire suggested.
Moreover, Vergeire said that they are now in coordination with the different local government units for the conduct of special vaccination days on Sept. 26 to 30.
Vergeire is optimistic that the booster shot uptake will increase in the coming days.
“Tingnan natin (Let us see) if this will eventually improve our coverage. So, hindi muna natin pupuntahan yung redefinition. Pinagaaralan pa rin po ng maigi iyan (we will not go to redefinition at this time. That is being studied thoroughly),” she said.
“Whether it is redefined or not, as long as we implement a whole of society approach, I think we can be able to improve the coverage in the coming days,” she added.