By NG Seruela
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday (Oct. 25) urged local government units (LGUs) to continue to comply with the vaccine prioritization amid the pediatric vaccination rollout in the country.
In the Laging Handa public briefing, WHO Representative to the country Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said they agree that it is high time for the pediatric vaccination outside Metro Manila, however, he advised the authorities to be “very conscious of the equity issues.”
He also encouraged the adolescents with comorbidities aged 12 and above and their parents to ensure the former’s early access to the vaccines.
“For the comorbid groups, yes, we do agree. It means that we need to start rolling out vaccines to the larger population, the adults, but also we need to be very conscious of the equity issues.”
“So with increased availability of vaccines, we continue to urge the local government units in those regions to make sure that as they roll out vaccines, they ensure prioritization is also followed so that those most vulnerable groups are vaccinated,” he said.
Abeyasinghe explained that the WHO sees “inequitable situation with regards to access to vaccines in the provinces and the regions outside of NCR and the major cities, especially for the most vulnerable, the A2 and A3 groups, where coverage ranges from about 30 to 40% in many of the regions and provinces.”
He strongly recommended for the LGUs to continue to prioritize and vaccinate the priority groups while the regions and provinces will ensure the adequate vaccine stock “to vaccinate the elderly and the comorbid populations simultaneously while vaccinating the other groups recognizing the availability of large stocks of vaccines in the country.”
He added that to stop the hospitals from being congested, as well as to control the deaths, the elderly and comorbid populations must be fully vaccinated.
Third dose recommendation
Meanwhile, Abeyasinghe said the organization already has a recommendation for the administration of the third dose to the immunocompromised since they are not “capable of developing and sustaining the level of immunity that will protect them from severe disease and death.”
He added that they also recommended the third dose to individuals aged 60 and above who have completed their two doses of either Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccines.
“Our recommendation is we start with the most severely immunocompromised; we start with the over 80s, then move to the over 70s, and finally to the over 60s. So this is what our position is now so that we maximize the benefit of the third dose in those groups who will be receiving the third dose.”
“But again, the priority is to provide the first and second doses to those who have not been able to get a single shot which is about three million people unfortunately still in the Philippines among the elderly,” he reiterated.
Booster shots vs. Third dose
In relation with this, the WHO representative clarified that the recommendation is for the third dose and not the booster shot.
“There is a difference in the scientific terminology. And we are saying a third dose for immunocompromised or elderly people who received Sinovac and Sinopharm; everybody who received the other EUL vaccines. That is our current position.”
He explained that booster shots boost the immunity in a general population, while the third dose for the immunocompromised and the elderly acts as an “extended primal recourse..”
“But in these groups of immunocompromised and the elderly who received Sinovac and Sinopharm, they appear to require a third dose as an extended primal recourse. This is different from a booster. When we are talking about boosters, we are talking of boosting the immunity in a general population. This is not what WHO [talking] at this point of time.”-rir
