LAOAG CITY, Jan. 7 – Laoag City residents can now register online to get scheduled for COVID-19 booster shot through a website opened by the City Government.

The online registration is open for Laoag City residents only.

In the registration website, eligible residents can choose what vaccine brand they prefer, and they will get a schedule once their preferred vaccine is available.

According to the City Vaccine Operations Center (OpCen), the only available vaccine for booster shots as of the moment are Sinovac and AstraZeneca, and registrants willing to get these vaccines will be given priority for scheduling.

According to the data from the City Government, their vaccination sites started administering booster shots last December 2021.

In a press release by the Department of Health (DOH), Secretary Francisco T. Doque III announced that the interval of the administration of booster shots will be shortened to at least three months after the second dose of a primary two-dose vaccine, or least two months after the primary single-dose vaccine is given.

The shortened interval was made effective on December 22, 2021.

During the recent COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall Meeting in Ilocos Norte, Dr. Rheuel C. Bobis, COVID-19 focal person of the DOH Center for Health Development in Ilocos, explained what type of combination an individual can get when choosing what vaccine brand to use for booster shot.

“Pagdating sa booster shots, pwedeng homologous ang kunin or 'yong same brand as your primary dose series. Kunwari Sinovac ang binigay sa inyo, pwedeng piliin na naman ang Sinovac as booster shot,” Bobis said.

“Maaari rin namang magkaroon ng heterologous booster shot. Ibig sabihin nito, magkaiba ang brand ng vaccine sa nakuhang primary dose series sa booster shot. Kunwari Sinovac ang nakuhang primary dose series, maaaring kumuha ng Pfizer, Moderna, o AstraZeneca vaccine as booster shot,” he added. 

The City Government of Laoag is encouraging its fully vaccinated eligible residents to register online to get their booster shot against COVID-19. (JCR/AMB/EJFG, PIA Ilocos Norte)