The DOH was open to giving booster doses once vaccine supply stabilized, according to Duque.
On Monday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that the Department of Health (DOH) was open to giving booster doses to the public once the vaccine supply in the Philippines stabilized.
Duque said in a virtual forum that allowing COVID-19 vaccine booster shots may not be equitable when many Filipinos still haven’t been vaccinated again.
According to Duque, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has not adopted booster shot in the vaccination program for the simple reason that the country didn’t have the sufficient volume to even provide the first dose for most Filipinos.
Duque also noted the low vaccination coverage for two doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
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However, he said that the Health Department was open to the idea of administering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots once the Philippines got an ample supply of COVID-19 vaccines.
Moreover, Duque said that they weren’t shutting the doors for the possibility of translating the idea of administering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots into policy once the volume was in and the sufficient vaccine supply was in.
Duque’s statement came as Israel had started administering the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to those over the age of 40 years old.
Meanwhile, the United States was planning to make COVID-19 vaccine booster shots widely available starting on September 20. According to United States President Joe Biden, he and first lady Jill Biden were planning to get COVID-19 vaccine booster shots once they’re eligible.
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