THE Department of Health (DOH) is studying the possibility of administering a second coronavirus disease (Covid-19) booster dose to individuals ages 50 to 59, Department of Health Spokesperson Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Saturday, June 25, 2022.
Vergeire said they are also discussing with vaccine experts the administration of second booster doses to immunocompromised healthcare workers.
She said the administration of booster doses to the said population may demand the amendment of the emergency use authorization of Covid-19 vaccines by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“We are looking at the evidence,” she said during a Laging Handa public briefing.
"Discussions are ongoing. We will be presenting to the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) on Monday and in case there will be an approval from our officials, we will be processing and facilitating this with the FDA and our HTAC (Health Technology Assessment Council)," she added.
Currently, only senior citizens, immunocompromised individuals and frontline health workers or those directly dealing with Covid-19 patients are eligible to get their booster doses.
As of June 23, a total of 153,031,631 Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the country.
Of which, 67,989,731 individuals received the first dose, 70,246,072 were already considered fully vaccinated while 14,795,828 received booster doses. (SunStar Philippines)