Gov’t eyes booster shots vs COVID-19 for over 1M health workers by November
THE government said it targets to begin administering a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to healthcare workers by next month, with only approval from health authorities needed.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. announced supplies are now ready for the booster shots of over a million medical frontliners inoculated in March and April.
But before the booster rollout can begin, he said this should first be authorized by the Department of Health (DOH) and recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Kailangan talaga magkaroon tayo ng third dose na ginagawa ng ibang bansa ngayon,” Galvez said in a briefing.
“Pag nagkaroon na ng approval mula WHO at DOH na pwede na bakunahan ng third dose, meron na po tayo nakalaan,” he added.
Once given the green light, Galvez said the rollout may start in November. The latest is January 2022, he added.
At least 15 million more vaccine doses are scheduled to arrive in the country this October. Galvez earlier said total deliveries are expected to hit 100 million doses by the end of the month.
Based on official data as of October 3, over 24 million Filipinos have already been inoculated against COVID-19, including 22 million who are now fully vaccinated. CNN Philippines
