NCR hospital mistakenly gave 2nd booster vax to unqualified recipients

FILE PHOTO: A man receives a shot against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in this photo taken on January 5, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) has confirmed that a hospital in the National Capital Region (NCR) mistakenly provided second COVID-19 vaccine boosters to health workers and senior citizens who are not yet qualified to receive it.

According to a statement from the DOH on Tuesday, the hospital management told them that they unintentionally misinterpreted the guidelines for the second booster provisions, which are only for immunocompromised (ICP) health workers and seniors.

The DOH assured that they are checking on the issue, while stressing that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) only for ICP individuals under A1 and A2 categories.

“The Department of Health is looking into reports that a hospital in NCR has administered second boosters to frontline healthcare workers and senior citizens who are not immunocompromised (ICP),” DOH said.

“Hospital management has explained that they unintentionally misinterpreted guidelines. The FDA-approved amended EUA states that senior citizens, front-line healthcare workers, and ICPs may be administered with a 2nd booster. The Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) has completed recommendations for ICPs. HTAC is still reviewing evidence for senior citizens and HCWs,” it added.

This has prompted the department and the National COVID-19 Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) to assist and talk with healthcare institutions and public vaccination sites to ensure that such wrong interpretation of the guidelines would not happen again.

“The DOH and NVOC are currently coordinating with the relevant Health Care Facilities and Vaccination sites to prevent further instances of these events. The facilities in question have now since returned to administering boosters to ICPs only,” DOH said.

“The DOH continues to encourage the eligible population to avail of the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines and the first booster shots, all proven to be safe and effective in protecting against the severe and critical symptoms brought by the virus,” it added.

The rollout of the second booster shots for the immunocompromised A1 and A2 — or health workers and senior citizens — started earlier.  The government targets to vaccinate around 7,000 to 13,000 of the 690,000 Filipinos deemed most vulnerable, as an added protection amid fears of a new surge by May.

DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III remains positive that high vaccination coverages and the booster shots would make COVID-19 a mere endemic in the near future.

“Because of increasing vaccination coverage, while COVID-19 is still there, in the near future we can consider this as an endemic disease,” Duque said in a public forum on Monday.

READ: Rollout of second booster doses vs COVID-19 starts

JPV