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

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