DOH adviser: No need for second booster for those non-immunocompromised yet

By LLANESCA T. PANTI, GMA News There is no need to administer a second COVID-19 booster shot just yet to those non-immunocompromised, a government adviser said Wednesday. Dr. Edsel Salvaña of the DOH Technical Advisory Group and Infectious Disease Expert made the response when asked if there is a need for second booster shot for those part of the labor force and those who are not immunocompromised given that the government already proceeded with administration of second booster shot for the elderly and the immunocompromised. "We have good evidence that the first booster is effective. In fact, the incremental benefit from the second dose to the first booster is very big. And the incremental benefit between the first booster and the second booster is much smaller compared to that of between second dose and the first booster," Salvaña said during the Laging Handa briefing. "In addition we are not only talking about antibodies but the T-cells which serves as our protection that is long lasting because it recognizes the virus within the cells," he added. Salvaña noted that while evidence shows that the second COVID-19 booster dose is fit for the elderly aged 60 years and above, there are already new reformulated vaccines that are already in the pipeline that could yield better efficacy. "It would be better if we just wait for those [newer vaccines] rather than stick with existing vaccines given that these people [who are not immunocompromised] react better to the vaccines compared with people who are immunocompromised or older," he pointed out. As this developed, Salvaña allayed fears over the case of 15 tourists in Palawan testing positive for COVID-19. "They are already vaccinated against COVID-19 most likely, especially if they are foreigners, because we don't allow entry of the unvaccinated. And so, we are seeing that early detection and COVID-19 vaccination is important because in cases like this, the cases remain mild and our health care system is not threatened," he said. In addition, Salvaña said there is no need for further restrictions in Palawan at this point. "I don't think so [that we should resort to that] because the final common pathway is, is our health care system being burdened? Are we at risk of being overwhelmed that we cannot take care of patients anymore? Because of the COVID-19 vaccines, our severe COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 cases needing hospitalization have been very low," he said. "Even if there is a slight spike in cases, the added pressure onto the hospitals is not anticipated to be much because much of the COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic or mild," he added. At least 70% of the country's eligible population are already fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (68 million), of which 13 million already got booster shot. — RSJ, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more