DOH eyes immediate vaccination for recovered COVID-19 patients

(FILE)  Medical workers from the Ospital ng Paranaque inspect the first batch of Astrazeneca vaccine during a ceremonial vaccination after the British-Swede made vaccine arrived in the country. INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) is studying the recommendation of experts that  COVID-19 patients who have already recovered from the respiratory disease be immediately vaccinated.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said health experts made this recommendation following new studies about vaccination after recovery and in view of the widespread community transmission in Metro Manila.

“Ang rekomendasyon ngayon at gagawin nating pag-aaral at pag-uusapan para makakuha ng approval would be immediately after the patient has recovered, you can already provide or give the vaccine. Pero kailangan pa po natin ilagay natin ito sa protocol,” Vergeire said in an online press briefing.

(The recommendation now is after the patient has recovered, we can immediately provide or give the vaccine. But this still needs to be included in the protocols.)

The recommendation, said Vergeire, covers all COVID-19 patients who have recovered “if they are scheduled to be vaccinated already.”

Earlier DOH guidelines state that people who have tested positive for COVID-19 should wait 90 days before getting vaccinated, as initial studies have shown that people appear to be susceptible to reinfection around three months after the onset of infection based on data about other human coronaviruses.

Dr. Rontgene Solante, a member of the Vaccine Expert Panel, earlier said the group recommends that patients who have recovered be allowed to get a COVID-19 vaccine after two weeks.

But according to Vergeire, the DOH has already amended its protocols to allow the vaccination of patients 14 days after their recovery.

A total of 795,320 individuals have already been vaccinated against COVID-19 as of April 3, according to Malacañang. Among those vaccinated were 765,871 medical frontliners; 16,121 senior citizens and 13,288 persons with comorbidities.

The country has so far recorded a total of 812,760 COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday with 152,562 active infections, 646,381 recoveries, and 13,817 deaths.

/MUF