(Eagle News) — All fully-vaccinated health care workers may start availing of COVID-19 booster shots starting Wednesday, Nov. 17, the Department of Health said.
According to the DOH, based on the Emergency Use Authorization issued by the Food and Drug Administration, the agency recommends using either Moderna, Pfizer, or Sinovac as booster doses “regardless of the brand used for the primary series.”
“Sinovac will also be offered as a booster for those that had Sinovac as a primary series,” the DOH said.
According to the department, guidelines will be released by the National Vaccination Operations Center on Tuesday.
Chinese scientists have found that the antibodies triggered by the COVID-19 Sinovac vaccine decline below a key threshold from around six months after the second dose.
The study has not yet been peer-reviewed.
For Pfizer, two large real-life studies by Cornell University researchers and published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed low immune response and protection responses against infection five to seven months after the second dose.
A study published in the journal Science in November found the Moderna vaccine saw a similar decline, falling to 58.0% from 89.2%, six months after the second dose.
Metro Manila is under a COVID-19 alert level 2.
Health authorities have warned against complacency, noting that the COVID-19 virus was still in the midst.