BY GERARD NAVAL and JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
AMID the threat of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Department of Health (DOH) on late Tuesday night said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed to cut short the interval in the provision of booster shots for fully vaccinated individuals.
During the Talk to the People Address of President Duterte on Tuesday night, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the FDA had already approved the amendments to the emergency use authorization (EUA) to reduce the time interval necessary for fully vaccinated individuals to get additional jabs.
“The approval came at an opportune time as several countries also re-strategized in light of the Omicron and other COVID-19 variants that may emerge,” Duque said.
Under the new policy, Duque said booster shots may already be given to adults at least three months after the second dose of a primary two-dose vaccine, or at least two months after a primary single-dose vaccine is given.
The old guidelines mandate at least six months interval for those who are fully vaccinated with the Pfizer, Moderna, Sinovac, Sputnik V, and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.
On the other hand, those that received Janssen doses for their primary vaccines may get inoculated with booster or additional shots at least three months after completion of the primary dose series.
Duque and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said booster shots will remain available for 18 years old and above only.
Nograles said it is not recommended for the pediatric group.
National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. on Tuesday night stressed the importance of booster shots following studies that the effect of the primary series wane three months to six months after the last administered dose.
Galvez said there were also studies that three doses of the vaccine will provide better protection.
Galvez assured the public that the country has enough vaccines available, including booster shots and pediatric vaccines, to cover the primary series and booster shots of adults and the pediatric vaccines for the 12 to 17-years-olds.
He said the country has received more than 192.34 million doses of vaccines which is expected to go up between 200 million to 207 million by the year end.
The latest delivery of vaccines arrived on Tuesday night composed of the 1.35 million doses of Moderna vaccines bought by the private sector and the 500,000doses of AstraZeneca vaccines donated by the government of Argentina.
The country is expecting 4.72 million doses of Pfizer vaccines- composed of 810, 810 doses donated by the French government through the COVAX facility, and 3.19 million doses bought by the government.
In a televised public briefing, Dr. Keiza Rosario of the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) said they expect some 19 million fully vaccinated individuals to be due for booster shots.
“Our estimate now, based on our data, is around 19 million individuals already due for booster,” said Rosario.
As of December 22, the government has administered 102.988 million vaccines nationwide. Of this number, 56.5 million was for first jab, 45.28 million for two doses, and 1.194 million booster shots.
REDUCING VACCINE PURCHASE
Galvez said with the current number of vaccines in the country, it will be able to sustain the vaccination program even up to mid-2022.
He added that with the present supply and the expected arrival of more vaccine donations, either through the COVAX or directly from other countries, Galvez said the government has decided to reduce the number of vaccines that it will buy in 2022.
He said the decision was reached during his meeting with Duque and the DOF.
“It was agreed that we will just buy 70 million instead of 90 million because we saw that we have received many donations from COVAX,” he said.
Galvez reiterated that the goal of the government is to fully vaccinate 54 million people by the end of the year, 77 million by the end of the first quarter of 2022 and 90 million by the end of the term of the President or the end of the second quarter of next year.
He said that in preparation for the resumption of face-to-face classes, the government is planning to include in the vaccination program children aged five to 11 years old by the first quarter of 2022.
Pfizer has already applied for an EUA for this age group. Galvez said the government is planning to buy 15 million doses of Pfizer vaccines for the five to 11 years old age bracket.
NO BREAK
Rosario appealed to healthcare workers deployed as vaccinators to forego their plans for an extended Christmas break, and instead immediately return to vaccination sites in the days between Christmas Day (December 25) and New Year’s Eve (December 31).
“Even though we are heading towards the holidays, we still requested our HCWs. We know you are all tired, but we cannot let our guards down,” said Rosario, adding: “Come December 24 and 25, let’s spend time with our families, then let’s go back to vaccination sites on December 27 to 30.”
“We take the opportunity from this small window in which we can still have interventions implemented rather than have our constituents deal with admitting their loved ones, quarantining them, isolating them as we have a surge in cases,” she said.
