ASEANEWS: HEADLINES: MANILA- Gov’t rolls out booster shots

Health workers who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus disease 2019 will today be the first to receive booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines, the Department of Health said in an advisory late Monday.

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Meanwhile, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said Tuesday the country may start inoculating fully-vaccinated senior citizens and persons with comorbidities with additional doses of anti-COVID-19 vaccine by next week.Health authorities earlier said seniors may receive booster shots before the end of the year. The government aims to vaccinate at least 50% of its adult population by yearend.

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Also, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the amended emergency use authorization (EUA) for four COVID-19 vaccines for booster shots and additional doses, the agency’s chief said Tuesday.The FDA amended the EUA of Pfizer, Sinovac, AstraZeneca, and Sputnik Light brands to include an additional shot, FDA chief Eric Domingo said in a taped meeting with officials that aired on radio dzBB on Tuesday.

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The DOH had also asked the FDA to check different vaccine combinations, Domingo said.“We approved Pfizer as a homologous additional third dose, meaning sixmonths after the second dose, another can be given. AstraZeneca was also approved as a homologous third dose, like Sinovac,” Domingo said in Filipino.He said the FDA authorized the single-shot Sputnik Light “as a heterologous booster.”“This means it can be given as a third dose to a patient that received a different vaccine,” he said.Domingo said authorities approved booster shots for three groups — health workers with frequent COVID-19 exposure, immunocompromised individuals, and senior citizens with comorbidities.

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The Philippines has so far fully immunized some 31.8 million of its 109 million population.The Department of Health on Monday evening announced that fully-vaccinated health care workers may get booster shots starting Wednesday, Nov. 17.The FDA recommended using Moderna, Pfizer, and Sinovac as booster doses regardless of the brand used in the primary series.The National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) is expected to release the guidelines on booster shots today.

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posted November 17, 2021 at 01:10 am by Willie Casas and Joel E. Zurbano