DOH-TAG says 4th dose not yet on horizon

MANILA, Philippines — Giving a fourth dose or second booster shot is not yet on the horizon as the additional protection it provides against COVID-19 is not that much, a member of the Department of Health-Technical Advisory Group (DOH-TAG) member said yesterday.

According to DOH-TAG member and infectious disease expert Edsel Salvaña, it is not yet time to give a fourth dose or second booster of COVID vaccines because there is little additional protection obtained. It is also uncertain if there are resulting side effects.

Salvaña added the primary series of COVID-19 inoculation is the “most important because even without booster,  (they) continue to protect against severe disease.”

Should there be a fourth dose, Salvaña said this might have to be “targeted,” prioritizing health care workers and the vulnerable population such as senior citizens and people with comorbidities.

“For me, I think, we should delay (getting the) fourth dose because, in the first place, there are still many people who have not received their primary series,” he added.

Pediatric jabs

Some 329,285 children aged five to 11 have been vaccinated against COVID, two weeks after the government started the inoculation for this age group, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire announced yesterday.

“Of the approximately 329,000 we have vaccinated, we have recorded only eight non-serious adverse events (such as) slight increase in blood pressure, fever and chills,” she said.

“In the coming weeks, our Resbakuna Kids vaccination sites will continue to increase and we currently have 482 vaccination sites,” she added.

Vergeire also encouraged pregnant women to get their COVID-19 shots, citing a British Medical Journal article which stated that of the 5,000 pregnant women severely affected by COVID-19, there were complications in their pregnancy that resulted in critical care admission, stillbirth and early neonatal deaths.

“They are not vaccinated. That is why we encourage our compatriots who are pregnant or even breastfeeding to get vaccinated. Because the antibodies of the vaccines that were injected into you can be passed on to your babies,” she said.

Philippines overcomes Omicron

Vergeire also said the Philippines has overcome the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

“We have already overcome the challenge from Omicron and we are currently in the low risk case classification. Based on the graph seen on our screens, our average daily reported cases continue to decline,” she said.

The DOH official said the average daily reported cases from Feb. 11 to 17 dropped by 52 percent from the previous week. She said all island groups – Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao – are also showing a gradual decrease in cases.

“In all regions, less than a thousand cases were recorded per day for this week,” she said. “With the exception of CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region) and Region 11, all regions are in the low risk case classification.” – Helen Flores