A guide to getting a booster shot after COVID-19 infection

MANILA, Philippines — As a surge in COVID-19 infections believed to be driven by Omicron variant rips through the country, many Filipinos who are due to receive their boosters have contracted the virus.

The Department of Health released Monday a checklist for people who want to get boosters but had COVID-19 infection or experienced symptoms.

You can get additional protection if:

• It has been three months since your second dose of AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer, Sinovac or Sputnik, or two months since getting the one-shot Janssen jab
• You completed your prescribed isolation period. The isolation period of probable, asymptomatic and mild cases has been reduced to seven days, provided they are fully vaccinated. Individuals with moderate symptoms, regardless of vaccination status, will need to isolate for 10 days, while severe and critical cases, and people who are immunocompromised will isolate for 21 days.
• You did not have fever for the last 24 hours even without taking antipyretics or fever medications
• Your respiratory symptoms have improved

“If you have checked all of these points, you are good to go. Now, go get the jab done! Do not forget to follow minimum public health standards when getting vaccinated,” the DOH said.

Since March 2021, nearly 55.2 million people have completed vaccination against COVID-19, while 58.8 million individuals have received partial protection.

The government has so far administered over 4.9 million booster doses.

Authorities are urging fully-vaccinated Filipinos to get boosted to provide them additional protection against variants of concern, including the hyper-contagious Omicron variant.