(FILE) Health Secretary Francisco Duque III (second from right) administers vaccine to Delailah Apante, a nurse at the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City, as part of the government’s ceremonial rollout of booster shots for health workers, seniors, and those with health conditions —NIñO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — The government is considering giving booster shots three months after the second dose of the primary COVID-19 vaccine series, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Friday.
Duque said health experts are looking at whether giving booster shots earlier than the recommended six months after the second dose would further boost the level of protection against COVID-19.
“We are looking at even advancing the booster jabs. So maybe three months after if the response is truly much higher in terms of antibody levels. We are going to defer to our Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) on this. Dr. Nina Gloriani, in particular, has been monitoring the situation very, very closely,” he told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
“We are looking into it. We will submit to the VEP what will be the comparative advantage of giving earlier booster shots, say instead of the six months from the second dose of the primary series, what if we give it three months after the second dose? Will that confer even a much better, much higher level of protection?” said Duque.
In the Philippines, booster shots are currently given six months after the second dose of a two-dose jab. However, for Janssen’s single-shot vaccine, a booster dose can be given at least three months after the initial vaccination.
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