By Veronica Corral
Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III said the first rollout of the second booster doses will be administered next week exclusively for “priority groups.”
In the April 22 Laging Handa briefing, Duque said immunocompromised individuals are the exclusive recipient of the second booster shots.
“Sa ngayon, ang aking inaprubahan batay sa rekomendasyon ng Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) ay ‘yung second booster doses para lamang sa mga immunocompromised na mga pasyente,” he said.
“Katulad ng mga taong nakatanggap ng organ transplant, mga taong umiinom ng mga gamot para sa kanilang immunosuppressives, ito ‘yung mga nagkaroon ng mga kidney transplant,” he added.
Also included in the HTAC-recommended and DOH-approved priority groups are individuals with primary immunodeficiency, those who are undergoing chronic dialysis, cancer patients, as well as those with treated and untreated human immunodeficiency viruses or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
Meanwhile, Duque advised the public, especially healthcare workers and senior citizens to wait for the HTAC’s recommendations on the next second booster rollout that will be available for the A1 and A2 groups.
“At ‘yung para sa A1, or healthcare workers at doon naman din para sa mga senior citizens, next week pag-aaralan…susuriin pa ng ating HTAC ‘yung mga datos galing sa WHO, US-FDA sa kanilang CTC, at saka sa UK joint commission on vaccination and immunization,” he said.
Further details from the National Vaccination Operations Center on the issuance of the second booster implementation will follow after the HTAC completed the implementing guidelines. – ag
Watch the full report here:
