AS government yesterday started giving COVID-10 booster shots to immunocompromised adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, the Department of Health said the rest of the minors in that age group will receive their additional shot in two to three days.
“For our 12 to 17 years old, who are not immunocompromised, the interval will not be that long,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing. “This means that, in possibly two to three days, we will already start the one for the rest of the 12 to 17 years old.”
The Department of Health on Tuesday announced it has approved a recommendation of the Health Technology Assessment Council for the provision of booster shots for all minors aged 12 to 17 years.
Yesterday, the government started giving boosters for the immunocompromised minors hospital-based vaccination sites in Metro Manila.
Vergeire said the decision to have an earlier start for immunocompromised adolescents was a mere “operational strategy” adopted by the DOH, to ensure the immunocompromised adolescents first will be prioritized in vaccination sites.
“We are starting with the immunocompromised in the implementation so that we can have a more organized way of doing things,” she said.
“This is merely an operational strategy so that we will be more organized and there will be no crowding in vaccination sites,” she also said.
Meanwhile, the DOH said Vergeire has been tapped to succeed Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje as head of the National COVID-19 Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) as the government transitions to the Marcos administration.
“This succession is meant to avoid gaps in implementation of the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination program, as the new administration transitions in,” the DOH said in a statement.
Vergeire, also concurrent WHO spokesperson, urged parents who are apprehensive over the return of face-to-face classes, to have their children vaccinated.
“We are all overprotective of our children. We don’t want them harmed or getting sick… The best protection we can give them is having them vaccinated. This will help increase your (parents) confidence as well as the protection of our children when they go back to their schools,” she said.
DOH records show there are some 9.5 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 years who have have been inoculated against COVID-19.
On the other hand, some 3.3 million children aged 5 to 11 years old are now fully-vaccinated.
Earlier, the Department of Education said at least 80 percent of public schools nationwide are ready for the return of face-to-face classes for school year 2022-2023, as they have complied with requirements for physical distancing, handwashing facilities, and proper ventilation in classrooms.
Cabotaje, in a briefing, said there is yet no second booster for the general public because no company has applied for emergency use authority (EUA).
She said this is the reason the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) has not made any assessment or recommendation to the DOH as to whether there is a need for a second booster for the general population.
There have been calls to give expiring vaccines as a second booster shot to the general population. Around 2 million vaccines set to expire at the end of the month.
Currently, second boosters are being given only to immunocompromised individuals, senior citizens, and healthcare workers.
In the US, its FDA in March authorized a second booster dose only for older people and certain immunocompromised individuals. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
