THE Department of Health (DOH) has finally approved the rollout of second booster shots against COVID-19 for the general adult population. Secretary – DOH officer in charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the second booster dose would soon be made available to individuals 18 years old and above, as soon as the implementing guidelines from vaccine experts are issued, possibly in the next few days.

Prior to this announcement only the vulnerable population, which includes health workers, senior citizens, and people with comorbidities, were allowed to get an additional booster.

The decision was reached based on the “positive recommendation” by the Health Technology Assessment Council ( HTAC ) and on the updated emergency use authorization issued by the Food and Drug Administration to vaccine manufacturers.

Only three COVID-19 vaccine brands—AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer—would be allowed to be given to the general public.

Infectious diseases expert and vice president of the Philippine College of Physicians, Dr. Rontgene Solante stressed that getting the second booster is recommended, especially for those who got their first shot six to eight months ago since their immunity has already waned.

DOH data indicated a 13 percent jump in the number of COVID-19 cases among unvaccinated individuals in March compared to the previous month’s figure.

DOH data has shown that COVID-19 infections among the unvaccinated rose in March compared to February.

The proportion of unvaccinated patients who developed severe and critical forms of the disease also increased.

The DOH however noted that deaths and hospital admissions continued to be low even though infections slightly increased. As of March 16, more than 78.4 million Filipinos are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Of the figure, over 23.8 million have received their first booster dose while almost 4.4 million have gotten the second booster shots.

I urge Filipinos to get the second COVID-19 booster as immunity against the virus wanes over time.

Young adults are encouraged to receive the second COVID-19 booster vaccine amid threats of other illnesses that make them vulnerable to the coronavirus.

Noncommunicable or Lifestyle diseases are killing the younger population and this is another compelling reason that the second booster should be given to all and be accessible or even mandatory.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases, are non-transmissible diseases of often long duration.

Examples of NCDs include mental health conditions, stroke, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease. Globally, it is estimated that one in two disability-affected life years and one in five deaths among adolescents are caused by NCDs. As NCDs are driven primarily by behaviors that often start during childhood and adolescence including physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, tobacco use and harmful use of alcohol, they have the potential to impact child and adolescent health and bring about negative health outcomes in adulthood. Estimates suggest that approximately 70 per cent of the premature deaths that occur among adults stem from health-related behaviors that originate in childhood and adolescence.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the trop three leading causes of death in the country remains to be non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly, ischaemic heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and neoplasms. These NCDs are lifestyle-related diseases as they are mostly the results of unhealthy habits according to the Department of Health (DOH).

From January to November of 2022, the PSA said ischemic heart diseases accounted for 103,628 deaths or 18.4 percent of the total deaths in the country; while cerebrovascular diseases came in second with 57,411 deaths (10.2 percent); neoplasms placed third accounting for 57,354 cases (almost tying with cerebrovascular diseases at 10.2 percent share).The PSA also noted a “substantial decrease” in deaths due to COVID-19 compared to the same period in 2021 where COVID-19 with virus identified became the third leading cause of death.

According to the PSA, COVID-19 placed 11th in 2022, accounting for only 11,377 cases or 2.0 percent of the total deaths from January to November 2022.

The rest of the Top 10 leading causes of deaths for 2022 based on PSA DATA are the following:

Ischemic heart diseases

Cerebrovascular diseases

Neoplasms

Diabetes mellitus

Hypertensive diseases

Pneumonia

Chronic lower respiratory diseases

Other heart diseases

Remainder of diseases of the genitourinary system

Respiratory tuberculosis

These lifestyle-related diseases are “very common” among the younger adult population and to me new 50 is around 30s or even younger.

Let us protect the young population. The young population are getting sicker due lifestyle problems ( smoking , alcohol drinking , unhealthy diet , lack of exercise , sedentary lifestyle and obesity ).

As the COVID-19 positivity rate increases to 7. 4 % due to increased mobility, it is important to also protect the general population since most of them are the working individuals.

Given the limited shelf life of stocks our government might be able to fast track the distribution by deploying more vaccination sites in universities, workplaces, hospitals , and big chain pharmacies to be able to reach more eligible individuals. This will prevent the bottlenecks in queues in LGU sponsored sites and aim at bringing the vaccination sites closest to the residents ‘ homes or places of work.

Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools we have available—wearing masks, staying at least 6 feet apart from people who don’t live with you, avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, washing your hands frequently, and getting vaccinated.

We want everyone in our community to be safe and get back to hugging our families and friends and shaking hands with our neighbors.

We all play a part in this effort, and you are key.

An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Let’s protect the next generation of Filipinos through collaborative work.

I’d like to end by quoting an African proverb :

“If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together”. By. Dr. Tony Leachon

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Anthony C. Leachon, M. D.

Independent Health Reform Advocate

Past President ,
Philippine College of Physicians

Internist – Cardiologist
Manila Doctors Hospital