Second COVID-19 booster shot rollout underway

A senior citizen in Angeles City gets his booster shot against COVID-19 during a house-to-house vaccination drive last February (Photo courtesy of the Angeles City local government unit)

MANILA, Philippines — The administration of the second booster shot against COVID-19 for persons with comorbidities kicked off on Monday, the Department of Health (DOH) said.

The rollout in Metro Manila was held at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Tala Hospital, Valenzuela Medical Center and selected venues in Makati City.

“DOH [Center for Health Development]-Metro Manila shares that administration of the second booster will begin today April 25, 2022 for immunocompromised individuals in different vaccination sites of the NCR,” the agency said in a statement.

“More vaccination sites will start administering 2nd boosters as the days progress,” it added.

According to the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC), the goal is to administer 690,000 doses to eligible immunocompromised individuals.

Persons with comorbidities can get their second booster dose three months after the first booster shot.

“Operations will initially aim to reach approximately 1-2% of this target, which corresponds to about 7,000 – 13,000 individuals. LGUs will take the lead in gradually expanding the rollout,” the DOH said.

Aside from immunocompromised individuals, also eligible for the second booster shot are senior citizens and healthcare workers.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, however, has so far approved the administration for people with comorbidities only.

DOH data shows that there are 66.9 million individuals in the country who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of April 18.

Of the figure, around 12.9 million have received the first booster dose.

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