MANILA, Philippines — The government is pushing to administer third vaccine doses or booster shots for health workers by November or December to give them additional protection against COVID-19 and its variants, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said Friday. Galvez earlier said the government is ready to administer third doses to health workers as it expects bulk deliveries of vaccines this month, which would enable it to allocate doses for the “re-vaccination” of health workers inoculated in March and April this year. He said the government has urged the panel of vaccine experts to “hurry up their decision” on the booster shots. ADVERTISEMENTThe Philippines is so far not yet giving booster shots but the country’s vaccine experts panel has recommended the administration of booster shots to health workers to give them additional protection, especially with the presence of more contagious variants such as Delta. In the early stages of the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program, health workers mostly received the China-made Sinovac vaccines since it was the brand available at the time.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer October 08, 2021 01:40 UTC