MANILA -- Acting Presidential Spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles underscored in a press briefing today, January 25, 2022, the importance of booster doses as additional protection against severe and critical COVID-19 cases.
“Mismong si Pangulong Duterte ang nagbigay-diin noong Disyembre hinggil sa halaga ng booster shots, lalo na para sa pagkontrol ng pagkalat ng nakakahawang Omicron variant,” said Secretary Nograles.
Citing information from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Sec. Nograles stressed that vaccines are effective in protecting individuals from severe and critical disease, hospitalization and deaths.
However, Nograles emphasized that based on the information from experts, vaccine efficacy decreases over time.
“Kaya kailangan natin ng COVID-19 booster shots. Proteksyon din ang booster shots laban sa umuusbong na bagong variants, lalo na laban sa Omicron variant na mabilis makahawa,” said Nograles.
The Palace official and Co-Chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) said the national government targets to administer 72.16 million boosters for the adult population in 2022, as part of the country’s National Vaccination Program.
Nograles added that included in the target population for vaccination are 12.74 million children ages 12 to 17 years old and 15.56 million children ages five to 11 years old who will receive the primary series vaccines and booster shots.
As of January 24, 2022, Nograles said some 6,492,213 Filipinos have received booster shots.
In the same press briefing, Dr. Lulu Bravo, Convenor of the Vaccine Study Group of the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health and Executive Director of the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination, reiterated that a third shot of a COVID-19 vaccine may have long-lasting benefits, especially against the Omicron variant.
Dr. Bravo presented a study which shows that two vaccine shots are around 30 percent effective against infections and symptomatic infections and 50 percent effective against severe disease, hospitalization, and death. The same data show that three shots or two doses plus a booster dose are 60 percent effective against infections and symptomatic infections, while it is 90 percent effective until two months and 80 percent effective at three months.
Meanwhile, Nograles reported that based on Vaccine Czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.’s presentation in the President’s Monday Talk-to-the-People, the Proposed Rollout Strategy for the Administration of COVID-19 Vaccines for children ages five to 11 is already being prepared.
“Ito po ay sisimulan na sa February 4, 2022. Phased approach po ito, kung saan ang Phase 1 ay isasagawa muna sa NCR,” said Nograles. (OPS)
