Vaccine experts said that they hoped to provide recommendations on the use of COVID-19 booster shot by end-2021.
Amidst the threats posed by the more contagious COVID-19 variants, vaccine experts said that they hoped to provide recommendations on the use of a COVID-19 booster shot by the end of the year.
Vaccine Expert Panel head Dr. Nina Gloriani told CNN Philippines’ The Final Word that they’re monitoring closely so that they might be able to provide some recommendation on the possibility of giving COVID-19 booster shot or third dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
“We are monitoring closely so that maybe by the end of the year or towards he third quarter of the year we might be able to give some recommendation on the possibility of giving boosters or third shot,” Gloriani said.
Gloriani also explained that some currently available COVID-19 vaccines can provide immunity for up to around 9 months.
According to Gloriani, there were three possibilities the World Health Organization (WHO) was looking into on what COVID-19 booster shot to give.
First was the same vaccine that was initially given, second was an updated version (a combination of the prototype strain plus the variant strain), and third was an entirely new COVID-19 vaccine.
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Gloriani also said that many COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers were already studying the production of an updated version — with some using only one variant, while others included all.
When asked about the performance of COVID-19 vaccines available in the Philippines against the COVID-19 variants, Gloriani said that the efficacy of AstraZeneca and Pfizer against the Delta variant was at 35% after one dose, which went up to 80% after the second dose.
For Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, Gloriani said that it’s important to get both doses in order to ensure better protection.
Also, Gloriani welcomed recent studies that showed the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine appeared to provide adequate protection against the Delta COVID-19 variant.
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