Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. on Friday said the country could start administering booster shots by November, with health workers as the first recipients.
In an interview over ANC, Galvez said the government would launch booster-shot inoculation once the Philippines has fully vaccinated half of its population.
“By Nov. 15 or maybe December, we will start with health care workers,” he said.
The vaccine czar earlier said that booster shots were found to be necessary for purging Covid-19, citing studies published in the medical journal, The Lancet.
“We raised it to all expert groups. We told them that we need them to hurry up their decision considering that there are 10 countries already administering booster shots including Indonesia,” he said.
The National Task Force Against Covid-19 has negotiations ongoing with booster shot manufacturers, even though the Philippine health department has yet to approve the use of third jabs to further protect an individual against Covid-19.
The Philippines plans to fully vaccinate up to 90 million Filipinos to achieve herd immunity.
The country has allocated P45 billion for the procurement of booster shots against Covid-19. John Ezekiel J. Hirro