The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on Thursday (Nov. 18) said vaccine efficacy wanes and that vaccination of boosters for senior citizens must start as soon as possible.
“Generally iyong six months. Iyong iba, depende rin sa tao. Kapag elderly or immunocompromised, mas maaga ding magwe-wane iyan. Mayroong mga data that shows na three months pa lang, four months, five months ay bumababa na,” DOST vaccine expert panel head Nina Gloriani said during the Laging Handa public briefing.
“Pero sa general population, ito iyong healthy population, mga six months. Pero iyong iba, maganda pa rin ang immune response nila after eight or ten months. Mabuti na ring maumpisahan na rin sana agad ang pagbibigay ng bakuna booster or third dose sa ating mga senior citizens kasi sila iyong talagang mas mabilis ang waning ng immunity,” she said.
As for the vaccination of boosters for minors, Gloriani said it has not yet come up during discussions, maintaining that the government must first ramp up the primary series of immunization.
“Hindi pa po natin pinag-uusapan iyan. Ang kailangan maintindihan ng lahat ay kailangan ma-ramp up muna ang ating primary series of immunization,” she said.
“Kailangan ipaakyat natin iyong mga naka-receive ng first two doses palang,” she added. –PG-rir
