A pediatric infectious disease expert is hoping that the special vaccination days set this month will further increase the country’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage, especially for the booster shot.

The Department of Health (DOH) recently announced that a special vaccination drive will be conducted nationwide on Sept. 26 to 30.

“I think the advantage of dedicating vaccination days—it really draws attention to the target vaccine. Hindi iyan naiiba doon sa tinatawag na supplemental immunization activities na ginagawa natin kaparte ng National Immunization Program para sa mga bata, diba kasama naman talaga sa regular vaccination for measles, polio (That is no different from the supplemental immunization activities that we do as part of the National Immunization Program for children or the regular vaccination for measles and polio),” said Dr. Anna Lisa Ong-Lim, a pediatric infectious diseases expert of the University of the Philippines–Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) during a recent forum hosted by the Philippine College of Physicians.

“Ginawa din natin ito nung simula if you will recall nung nagsimula tayo (We also did this before if you will recall when we started) with the primary vaccination that is actually quite effective. So, we are hoping that by doing this with the booster, we'll be able to a large increase in the target that we want to cover,” she added.

Ong-Lim also urged the government to highlight the importance of getting the booster shots.

“Information is critical for people to understand that it is important to be boosted... We need to build value for the booster,” she said.

The health expert said that it is also essential to note that the booster shots are “important to preserve our health.”

“Siguro kung ako ang kakausap sa pasyente ay sasabihin ko sa kanya 'alam niyo, maigi na nakapag pabakuna na kayo ng primary series ninyo kasi kahit mahawaan ka man, hindi ka na matatakot na maoospital ka at magiging madidisgrasya ka (Maybe if I will be the one talking to the patient, I would tell him 'you know, it's good that you've been vaccinated with your primary series because even if you get infected, you won't be afraid of being hospitalized and your condition will not be severe),” she said.

“Pero nandito na rin tayo sa punto (But we are now also at this point) where we know that if we are boosted, that can be helpful in improving your quality of life. What does that mean? Bababa ang tyansa mo na mahawaan ka kung ikaw ay boosted (Your chances of getting infected will decrease if you are boosted),” she added.

As of Sept. 8, around 72.7 million Filipinos have been fully-vaccinated. However, only 18.4 million individuals have received their first booster shot, while more than 2.4 million people have received their second booster dose.