Presidential Adviser on Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion is sounding the alarm over the slow booster uptake in the Philippines and the approaching expiry of Covid-19 vaccines in the country's inventory.

Concepcion made the statement following reports that only 13 percent of the targeted population have received their booster shots.

Data from the National Vaccination Operations Center showed that only 30 percent of the target population got their booster shots even in Metro Manila. In provinces with fully vaccinated rates of 75 percent or higher, such as those in the Cordillera Administrative Region and Regions 1, 2, and 3, booster vaccinations are only between 11 to 16 percent.

"These are not encouraging numbers," he said.

Concepcion said the slow booster uptake is alarming for many reasons, foremost of which is that millions of Filipinos will soon be overdue for their booster shots. This is despite the abundant supply of vaccines and their ready availability through private sector efforts and vaccination drives of the government.

"While we are still okay right now, we cannot be sure about the second half of the year, when antibodies will wane for most everyone," he said.

"Vaccines now in stock in the country are also set to expire by June. Beyond that point, where will get vaccines to address the waning immunity? The vaccines are available here, right now, and we are encouraging the public to take them while they still can," he added.

While it was first suggested that protection weakens after five months for most vaccines, the Food and Drug Administration shortened the interval between the completion of the primary doses and the booster shot to three months. The Department of Health gave the green light for booster shots last December when close to 38 million Filipinos had already received their second dose of the vaccine.

Meanwhile, the Philippine government's Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) recommends an additional or fourth dose for immunocompromised individuals and the elderly. The VEP had said the efficacy of the third shot (or the first booster dose) decreases over time in these individuals but not so much for healthy people.

"You're never fully vaccinated unless you have been boostered," the Go Negosyo founder said, citing the consensus among experts that antibodies against Covid wane over time.

"A booster shot will give additional protection against severe disease, infection, and death from Covid, and protection from its emerging variants," he added.

Meanwhile, Concepcion suggested redefining "fully vaccinated" as individuals who have received a booster dose and that vaccination cards must now have an expiry date and be replaced with booster cards.

In Singapore, the validity of a person's fully vaccinated status is set at 270 days after the last dose of the primary vaccination series; it is extended after receiving a booster shot. The measure was taken upon the recommendation of Singapore's vaccine expert committee.

"We have to do this now and face down a possible increase in cases, so we do not slow the reopening of the economy," Concepcion said.

"I cannot stress enough the urgency of bringing back the vibrancy of our economy, and this depends on the integrity of our wall of immunity, and our wall of immunity is only as strong as the effectiveness of our vaccinations," he added.

Despite this, Concepcion expressed hope that widespread booster vaccinations will lead to the eventual lifting of the state of public health emergency in the country.

"While Alert Level 1 has helped us move to a much better place, we should start to aspire to a downgraded alert level. We can only do this if we maintain our wall of immunity, and to do that, people must take their boosters," he said.