The Department of Health (DOH) is considering the inclusion of funding for COVID-19 vaccine booster shots in the national budget for 2022.
DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said in the Aug. 19 Kapihan Session that the booster shots will first be allocated to health workers, immunocompromised individuals, and those vulnerable to the disease.
Experts are studying whether the booster shot will soon be administered amid the current supply trend.
“Will it be a third dose of the same vaccine, or will we boost another vaccine with another vaccine?… In the next month or two, all experts groups will be able to give us a more final recommendation,” she said.
Speaking in his Thursday (Aug. 19) briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the proposed budget for booster shot procurement in 2022 amounts to P45 billion.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet expressed the need for booster shots as millions of people remain unvaccinated worldwide. However, the United States will begin administering boosters in September, or eight months after fully vaccinated individuals received their last dose.
Western brands
The government is anticipating more vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna to enter the country.
National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez. Jr. said this is due to the nearing completion of the vaccine deal between the Philippines and China for Sinovac doses.
“We’re exploring to buy more, but abangan namin na once na nag-deliver na ‘yung majority ng Pfizer at saka Moderna, we might be concentrating on this major brands. We are expecting that Pfizer will pick up their delivery this coming September – five million,” he said.
Vax coverage
A total of 29,127,240 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country as of Wednesday (Aug. 18), with 16,250,043 first doses and 12,877,197 second doses.
DOH data show that fully vaccinated senior citizens increased from 32.57% on Aug. 2 to 45.67% on Aug. 18 based on the 8.2 million target population. The vaccination coverage for those with comorbidities also rose from 48.40% to 68.46% based on the seven million target.
The DOH said it is considering the Delta variant threat as a factor behind the increasing number of willing vaccine recipients. – Report from Mark Fetalco/AG-bny
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