ILOILO – Only 32 individuals here have so far availed themselves of second vaccine booster shots against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) since April 25 when the rollout started.
Many are hesitant, according to Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) chief Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon.
“Fear of the unknown causes anxiety,” she said. “(But) knowledge can conquer fear.”
Ilonggos should be comforted by the fact that COVID-19 vaccines were studied, reviewed and recommended by experts, said Quiñon. “They won’t allow your health and welfare compromised.”
The 32 which got their second booster shots were from the towns of Badiangan (two), Dueñas (two), Estancia (two), Oton (12), Pavia (four), San Miguel (two), San Rafael (one), and Santa Barbara (seven).
The rest of the towns were yet to submit their vaccination reports.
In rolling out the second vaccine booster shots against COVID-19, the IPHO is following the guidelines as to who should get it, issued by the Department of Health (DOH). These are the following:
* those with immunodeficiency state
* those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
* those with active cancer or malignancy
* organ transplant recipients
* those undergoing steroid treatment
* patients with poor prognosis / bed-ridden
* other conditions of immunodeficiency as certified by physician
“Our numbers show that 1.3 million residents of Iloilo province already got their first vaccine dose, 1.2 million got their second dose while more than 200,000 got their boosters. So, why hesitate?” said Quiñon.
One may choose his or her second booster shoot to be either homologous or heterologous.
A homologous second booster shot is the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine from the same brand used in the first booster shot, while a heterologous shot uses a vaccine brand different from the first booster shot.
A recipient may choose from the following COVID-19 vaccine brands recommended by the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) – Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Coronavac (Sinovac), and Sinopharm
As of May 3, 201,445 individuals got their first booster shots. These were in Ajuy (3,547), Alimodian (4,757), Anilao (2,780), Badiangan (4,543), Balasan (2,786), Banate (2,773), Barotac Nuevo (4,327), Barotac Viejo (2,567), Batad (1,404), Bingawan (2,044), Cabatuan (5,785), Calinog (4,819), Carles (3,769), Passi City (4,302), Concepcion (3,844), Dingle (4,774), Dueñas (5,785), Dumangas (5,795), Estancia (2,326), Guimbal (2,257), Igbaras (3,962), Janiuay (6,541), Lambunao (5,555), Leganes (4,237), Lemery (23,722), Leon (3,251), Maasin (4,532), Miag-ao (7,132), Mina (2,798), New Lucena (2,267), Oton (11,856), Pavia (10,368), Pototan (8,903), San Dionisio (3,440), San Enrique (3,355), San Joaquin (6,472), San Miguel (2,993), San Rafael (1,543), Santa Barbara (6,313), Sara (3,752), Tigbauan (6,842), Tubungan (2,718), Zarraga (7,027), and Iloilo PHO (7,317)./PN
