SENATOR and Chair of the Senate Committee on Health Christopher “Bong” Go echoed President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to the public to get their booster shots once eligible as an additional protection against COVID-19.

In his Talk to the People address on February 21, the President advised those qualified to get boosted, citing a low rate of people receiving the additional shots.

“Magpa-booster dose na kayo para sa karagdagang proteksyon laban sa COVID-19 lalo na sa mga variant nito tulad ng Omicron,” Duterte said.

“Huwag kayong mangamba dahil ang ating bakuna ay pinag-aralang mabuti ng ating mga eksperto. Ito ay garantisadong dekalidad, ligtas, at higit sa lahat, epektibo,” he reassured.

Reiterating Duterte’s appeal, Go noted that based on available data, getting vaccinated and boosted have hugely reduced the risk of contracting severe cases of COVID-19.

“Hinihikayat ko po ang lahat na magpabakuna lalo na’t bukas na ang programa sa general population. Pwede na rin magpabooster ang mga qualified. Nasa datos naman na kung sino ang positibo at grabe ‘yung sintomas ay kadalasan sila ‘yung mga hindi pa bakunado,” Go pointed out.

The senator added that cooperation in the national vaccination program is also a way of helping healthcare workers and other frontliners who are toiling endlessly in the fight against the pandemic.

“Kaya ipakita natin ang malasakit sa ating mga frontliners at magpa-schedule na tayo sa pinakamalapit nating vaccination site. Huwag kayong matakot sa bakuna dahil ito ang tanging solusyon para unti-unti na tayong makabalik sa ating normal na pamumuhay,” he appealed.

According to the National Task Force Against COVID-19, as of February 21, over 62 million Filipinos have already received their second dose, which represents 69% of the targeted 90 million Filipinos. Meanwhile, around 9.7 million boosters have been administered.

Duterte also said that he is pleased that the number of daily COVID-19 cases in the Philippines has been steadily decreasing.

“Ang mga daily COVID cases natin, pababa nang pababa. (Health Secretary Francisco) Duque has declared that we have surpassed the worst of the Omicron variant,” the President remarked.

Duque reported that majority of the regions are now at minimal to low risk case classification for COVID-19. The Cordillera Administrative Region is still classified as a moderate-risk case, and Region XI has a moderate-risk ICU utilization rate. The rest of the regions have low-risk rates of healthcare utilization.

The health secretary also urged the public to get their booster doses to prevent further mutation and transmission of COVID-19.

Go then stressed that the fight against the pandemic is a national undertaking and Filipinos can contribute by being responsible citizens.

“Lagi natin alalahanin na hindi kaya ng gobyernong mag-isa ang laban kontra pandemya. Hindi rin kakayanin ng mga frontliners kung patuloy na dadami ang kailangang dalhin sa mga ospital. Preventing the spread of COVID-19 starts with us by being responsible citizens and following health and safety protocols,” said Go.

Finally, the senator reiterated his appeal to the public to remain vigilant and continue complying with the mandated health and safety protocols to curb the spread of the virus and keep the healthcare system afloat.

“Kaya let us remain vigilant at sumunod sa mga patakaran. Ugaliing magsuot ng mask, mag-social distancing, maghugas ng kamay, at kung hindi kailangang lumabas ay manatili na lang sa bahay upang maiwasan ang hawaan ng sakit. Magtulungan tayo para hindi bumagsak ang ating healthcare system habang binabalanse natin na pasiglahin muli ang ating ekonomiya,” he ended.