DOH chief agrees to redefine ‘full vaccination’ status in PH
Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III agreed with the call to redefine the term “full vaccination” in the Philippines to include the first booster shot received by the Filipinos.
This comes as health experts are calling to change the conditions to consider someone fully-vaxxed to increase the COVID-19 vaccination rate in the country.
However, during an interview with ANC, Duque said that the final decision still relies on the IATF (Inter Agency Task Force).
He added that although health experts agree with the move, the economic team within the task force does not want the boosters to become mandatory.
Currently, having two shots of COVID-19 vaccines is regarded as a “full vaccination” in the country. Six countries have already redefined their meaning of “full vaccination” by adding a third shot.
Duque stated that they will reintroduce redefining the term to the IATF ”for a consensus.”
According to the National COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard, around 71 million individuals have already completed their primary vaccine doses as of June 4, 2022. Meanwhile, only 14 million individuals had taken their booster dose.
