A Department of the Interior and Local Government official on Monday said the government was studying setting an expiration date for vaccine cards of individuals who have yet to receive Covid-19 vaccine booster shots.
In a “Laging Handa” briefing, Interior Undersecretary Epimaco Densing said the measure was among the proposals the government was looking into to address waning vaccine demand and efficacy.
“[I]sa po iyan sa pinag-uusapan namin ngayon, iyong mga istratehiya on the policy side para iyong tao ay ma-force na magpabakuna or magpa-booster,” Densing said.
“So isa diyan, redefinition of fully vaccinated, at pangalawa, ito ngang posibilidad na kung hindi ka pa nakakapag-booster e after six months, automatic iyong inyong vax card ay expired na,” he added.
On redefining the term “fully vaccinated” as those who received the primary series of a Covid-19 vaccine and a booster dose, the Department of Health earlier said the country would follow whatever definition was most widely used by other countries.
More than 72 percent of the country’s target population are considered fully vaccinated against Covid-19, but only 12.92 percent have been boosted as of March 31.
The Philippine government is planning to vaccinate 100 percent of Filipinos by June, before President Rodrigo Duterte’s term ends.
The country has 39,315 active Covid-19 cases, according to the health department’s latest bulletin. John Ezekiel J. Hirro