What we know so far about booster COVID-19 shots
MANILA, Philippines — The official overseeing the Philippines' vaccination program has confirmed that the government is in talks with pharmaceutical manufacturers for the acquisition of COVID-19 booster shots.
The announcement from vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. comes amid the country's sluggish inoculation program, having fully covered just 12.8% of the population as of August 31, five months since the campaign first began.
But what are health authorities saying about booster shots? Are there funds set aside for their procurement? Will the booster shots be rolled out before some Filipinos even receive one dose of the vaccine? Here's what we know so far.
Are booster shots necessary?
Local as well as global health authorities have said that they are not yet convinced that booster shots are necessary.
On August 9, the Department of Health maintained that it was not yet recommending administering an extra COVID-19 dose, citing limited data on the benefits of doing so and the limited supply of the badly-needed jabs.
The World Health Organization similarly said in a statement on August 10 that "the evidence remains limited and inconclusive on any widespread need for booster doses following a primary vaccination series."
It added that the "focus for the time being remains on increasing global vaccination coverage with the primary series" of the one- or two-dose vaccinations.
WHO has also condemned wealthy countries for rushing to acquire extra shots while millions around the world have yet to receive a single dose.
Are there funds to buy them?
Yes, but with conditions.
While there is a P45-billion fund for the booster shots included in the proposed P5-trillion budget for next year, the government cannot buy them until the Food and Drug Administration authorizes boosters.
Budget Undersecretary Tina Marie Canda on August 25 said the funds earmarked for the purchase of booster shots will stay as “unprogrammed appropriations” under the budget proposal, meaning this item will only be funded if there are sources of revenue for it.
Rep. Eric Yap (ACT-CIS party-list), House Committee on Appropriations chair, said lawmakers are open to placing the spending item for booster shots under programmed appropriations — or those with definite and identified funding — if extra jabs are really needed and there is actual cash to fund the procurement.
How far along is the acquisition process?
In the early stages, according to the country's vaccine czar.
Galvez on September 2 told CNN Philippines that the government is negotiating with four pharmaceutical firms to acquire booster shots but did not identify the manufacturers.
But he also said that China's Sinovac Biotech expressed its willingness to donate 500,000 booster doses for healthcare workers. Most of the country's vaccine supply is comprised of shots manufactured by the Chinese firm.
Galvez said authorities are awaiting guidance from the DOH, the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group, and the vaccine expert panel on the need for additional shots for fully vaccinated individuals.
In the meantime, Galvez said, authorities are exploring the possibility of signing non-binding term sheets.
If booster shots are acquired, how does the government plan to roll them out?
Asked about the matter, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in Filipino at a Palace briefing that the government will prioritize "vaccinating the entire Philippines first."
"All I can say is that it is in our proposed budget," Roque said. "So let's talk about booster shots later."
It is unclear if, and how, authorities plan to effectively regulate the administration of extra shots.
Even now, while booster shots remain unapproved and technically unavailable, some people have reportedly secured extra doses of the vaccine.
Last month, Rep. Ronaldo Zamora (San Juan) disclosed that he already received four doses of COVID-19 vaccines – two jabs from Chinese pharmaceutical Sinopharm and another two shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The Quezon City government has also filed charges against two individuals who allegedly received third doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the city after getting fully vaccinated in other local government units. — with reports from Gaea Katreena Cabico
- Latest
- Trending
