‘Second booster: Prioritize people with comorbidities’

MANILA, Philippines — People with comorbidities should already be given the second booster shot against COVID-19, according to Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) member Rontgene Solante.

Solante expressed belief that the “priority list” for the second booster dose should be expanded by including those with comorbidities, such as diabetes, hypertension and heart ailments, among others.

“If I will be asked, second boosters should also be given to people with comorbidities,” he said.

He added that those with comorbidities should be protected adequately from COVID-19 because they are as vulnerable as senior citizens and other patients.

Pending this, however, the VEP member underscored the need for all eligible individuals to get their first booster, especially since the immunity being provided by the COVID-19 vaccine wanes.

He also cited the emergence of sublineages of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, which are feared to drive another surge of COVID-19 cases in the country.

Currently, however, a second booster dose is allowed only among immunocompromised individuals (ICPs), senior citizens and health care workers.

ICPs refer to those who are active cancer patients who are receiving treatment, those who have received organ transplant and taking immunosuppressive therapy and those have advanced and untreated HIV infection.

Those who had undergone a stem cell transplant within the last two years or taking immunosuppressive therapy, those who are undergoing dialysis, those who have moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency states, those with autoimmune disease and treatment with specific immunosuppressive medications and those with rare diseases also fall under ICPs.