DOH: Only 580,000 availed second COVID-19 booster shot as of June 13

FILE PHOTO: A health worker prepares a dose of the BioNTech Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Manila on July 15, 2021. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) reported Wednesday that only about 580,000 eligible Filipinos have availed a second COVID-19 booster dose as of June 13.

DOH spokesperson Usec. Maria Rosario Vergeire also disclosed in a media forum that more than 2.4 million health workers, around 6.8 million senior citizens, and nearly 9 million immunocompromised people in the country have already been fully inoculated against the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The DOH official then noted that for the second booster shot, only senior citizens, immunocompromised individuals, and health workers are allowed to receive it for now.

READ: 2nd booster shot: Continuing the fight against COVID-19 in PH

She stressed anew that the DOH will only administer a second booster dose for the general public if it receives an amended emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration and a positive recommendation from the Health Technology Assessment Council.

All in all, the DOH said more than 69.8 million Filipinos have already been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Monday while first booster dose recipients reached around 14.6 million.

On Tuesday, the DOH’s COVID-19 tracker indicated that active coronavirus cases in the country stood at 3,130 and noted a “sharp increase” in infections logged in Metro Manila.

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