A COVID-19 booster shot for children aged 5 to 11 years does not appear to be necessary, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
“Based on initial evaluations of our experts and the Health Technology Assessment Council, they believe that the primary series for 5 to 11 years old offers the same protection as the booster shots,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing yesterday.
“It means that the primary series has shown its efficacy or effectiveness to children,” she added.
Nevertheless, Vergeire said they continue to wait whether the COVID-19 vaccines will be given emergency use authority (EUA) to be used as booster shots for children aged 5 to 11.
“We are just waiting for the EUA from the Food and Drug Administration for this booster shots for 5 to 11 years old,” she said.
It was in February 2022 when the DOH began vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 years old against COVID-19. Currently, the age group is eligible only for the primary series COVID-19 vaccines.
As of March 6, almost 5.5 million children are fully-vaccinated out of the 10,895,015 target population.
As for adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, at least 10 million have been fully vaccinated, with 1.2 million having received booster shots.
Among those 18 years and older, almost 73.9 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated but only 21.6 million individuals have received their first booster shots.
There are also almost 4 million healthcare workers, senior citizens, immunocompromised individuals, and people with comorbidities, who have received second booster shots.
