Covid-19 Task Force Spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser said in a radio interview on Wednesday, December 22, that the city, however, is currently prioritizing the booster shots to the Priority Groups A1 (medical healthcare workers), A2 (senior citizens), and A3 (persons with comorbidities).
Schlosser added that the booster shot rollout will only commence once the majority of those in the first three priority groups had been fully vaccinated.
She said this is due to the limited allocation of the vaccines.
“We will be dependent on the allocation of the Department of Health [DOH],” the official said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
She added, “We are pushing for that kay para maapsan nato ang possible surge, if mag-surge (so we can be ahead of the possible surge, if there is a possible surge). Hopefully not, we are not wishing for that.”
Schlosser said a surge is possible following the recent detection of a suspected highly-infectious Omicron variant of the Covid-19. As of December 22, the Philippines has detected three cases, all from international travels.
DOH announced on its Facebook page that the general public may receive their booster shots starting December 3, 2021.
Regardless of which vaccine brand was inoculated during their primary shots, those who are fully vaccinated may receive AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna as booster shots.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, meanwhile, announced on Tuesday, December 21, that the interval for booster shots against COVID-19 will now be shortened starting Wednesday.
Duque under the new policy, boosters could now be administered to adults at least three months after the second dose of a primary two-dose vaccine or at least two months after the primary single-dose vaccine is given.
Schlosser said they are still awaiting the guidelines from the national government before the city can adapt to the new vaccination interval.
Meanwhile, the Vaccination Cluster as of December 20, had already vaccinated 1,213,083 for the first dose, and 1,088,457 for the second dose. A total of 15,947 were jabbed for the booster shots.
The city is targeting to vaccinate a total of 1,299,894 Dabawenyos. (RGL)