By Alec Go
The Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday, April 26, that it is looking into the reported administration of second COVID-19 booster dose to healthcare workers and senior citizens who are not immunocompromised in a hospital in Metro Manila.
In a statement, the DOH said the hospital management where the incident took place has explained that it has “unintentionally misinterpreted guidelines.”
“The DOH and NVOC [National Vaccination Operations Center] are currently coordinating with the relevant health care facilities and vaccination sites to prevent further instances of these events,” it read.
“The facilities in question have now since returned to administering boosters to ICPs [immunocompromised people] only,” it added.
The Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) earlier recommended a second booster for ICPs only, following the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the amended emergency use authorization for the second boosters of senior citizens, health workers, and ICPs.
Amid the expansion of the country’s vaccination coverage, the DOH urged the public anew to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and avail of the first booster shot, as a means of protection against severe and critical COVID-19 infection.
Read more: PCMC kickstarts rollout of COVID-19 2nd booster shot
The government began the administration of second booster shots to the immunocompromised population on Monday, April 25. – gb
