MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday told Filipinos not to get COVID-19 booster shots, since getting more than the normal could pose health risks and it would also mean depriving other Filipinos of the vaccine.
He issued the statement as the government is set to expand the coverage of the COVID-19 vaccination program to the general population and minors with comorbidities.
“Tama na ‘yang dalawang doses, ‘wag na ninyong sobrahan, delikado,” he said.
(The two doses are enough, don’t exceed because it’s dangerous.)
The President said that receiving more than the two recommended doses could pose health risks since it could raise antibodies to dangerous levels, and the “dead virus” used in the vaccine can be “resurrected.”
He also said that those who are getting more than two doses are depriving their fellow Filipinos, who have yet to receive a dose, of their vaccines.
“When you do that, you deprive your countrymen, the others na wala pa sa isang bakuna, na maibigay doon sa kapwa tao,” he said.
“Hindi naman kailangan at it does not add really to the full protection of your body. You can even get contaminated again,” he added.
(It is not necessary and it does not really add to the full protection of your body. You can even get contaminated again.)
The talk on booster shots bolstered when the COVID-19 Delta variant started to wreak over the country and there were reports that antibodies developed by the China-made vaccines “wane” after about six months.
The Philippines is so far not yet giving booster shots but the country’s vaccine experts panel has recommended the administration of booster shots to health workers to give them additional protection, especially with the presence of more contagious Delta and other variants.
In the early stages of the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program, health workers mostly received China-made Sinovac vaccines since it was the brand available at the time.
The World Health Organization has called for a moratorium on giving out COVID-19 booster shots until the end of 2021, since millions of individuals worldwide have yet to receive a single dose.