ILOILO City – Booster shots could only be administered to Western Visayans once the region achieves herd immunity against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to the Department of Health (DOH).
Region 6 needs to first vaccinate 70 percent of its target population, according to Dr. Daphynie Teorima, DOH-6 spokesperson.
“We still need to consider ang iban – the rest of the adult population and minors wala pa naton nahatagan sang bakuna,” said Teorima during Monday’s virtual press briefer.
Herd immunity, also known as population immunity, is the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection.
A booster shot, meanwhile, is administered when a person has completed his/her vaccine series and protection against the virus has waned over time.
Western Visayas has a population of around 7.9 million. DOH master-listed 5,579,388 target eligible population under Priority Group A.
As of Oct. 23, the region completely inoculated 1,491,600 individuals, or only 26.73 percent of the target population.
Western Visayas has still a long way to go to achieve herd immunity, according to Teorima.
This is why, she said, DOH and other stakeholders are boosting efforts to increase the vaccination rate by yearend.
To safely achieve herd immunity against COVID-19, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), a substantial proportion of a population would need to be vaccinated, lowering the overall amount of virus able to spread in the whole population. One of the aims with working towards herd immunity is to keep vulnerable groups who cannot be vaccinated (due to health conditions like allergic reactions to the vaccine) safe and protected from the disease.
Health secretary Francisco Duque earlier approved a recommendation by the Health Technology Assessment Council to give booster shots for priority groups, provided there is adequate vaccine supply.
With local chief executives in Region 6 asking when they could start administering booster shots, Teorima said they do not have a mandate yet from the central office.
Meantime, DOH-6 enjoins local government units to start listing minors for COVID vaccination.
“The vaccination will start with kids with comorbidities,” the regional health department earlier said./PN
