Health workers warned of sanctions for giving COVID-19 'booster shots'
MANILA, Philippines — Medical workers administering COVID-19 booster shots may face sanctions, the Department of Health said Monday as it has yet to approve the use of an additional dose.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the agency is not yet recommending the use of booster shots as more evidence is needed to determine if an additional shot is necessary to protect people against COVID-19.
She reminded healthcare workers that emergency use authorizations issued for vaccines do not indicate the use of a booster dose.
“Whatever was indicated in the [Emergency Use Authorization], that will be the use of the vaccine. Let us be careful because if there’s a violation, you may face sanctions,” Vergeire said Filipino during a briefing.
The statement comes after Rep. Ronaldo Zamora (San Juan) admitted that he received two booster shots after getting inoculated with the jab made by Chinese drugmaker Sinopharm, the vaccine brand which was also administered to President Rodrigo Duterte.
The government issued an EUA for the vaccine made by Chinese state-owned firm Sinopharm in June, but this only covers a batch donated by China to the Presidential Security Group. Members of the PSG and a columnist have acknowledged being administred Sinopharm vaccines even if these are not authorized for use. The vaccines, which Zamora described as "bootleg", were smuggled into the country.
Nobody has been held to account for it.
“We were not informed about this matter. This was something they did between the individual and his physician,” Vergeire said.
“I want to reiterate that mixing and matching and booster doses are not yet recommended by the Department of Health and by experts because of insufficient evidence,” she added.
The DOH earlier said the health and science departments were planning to study the use of booster shots as well as the possibility of pairing doses from two different COVID-19 jabs.
Since the Philippines launched its vaccination campaign in March, only 3.5 million Filipinos have completed vaccination, while over 9.6 million have received partial protection. — Gaea Katreena Cabico
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