Is there a need to ‘boost’ the boosters? 

First, the good news. The Department of Health (DOH) early this week announced that 70.76 percent of the country’s target population has already been vaccinated against Covid-19. In short, almost 64 million Filipinos are fully vaccinated.

Now, the other side of the news. Out of this number, only 10.5 million individuals have received a booster shot. Although this is not yet a cause for alarm, this revealed that the confidence level of Filipinos when it comes to a booster shot is low, as reflected in the number of “no shows.”

National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) Chief Myrna Cabotaje said in a forum that a lot of people are “thinking if they really need a booster,” while some “don’t see the urgency of having that shot.” She lamented the fact that “out of about 36.7 million eligible individuals due for a booster shot recently, only a third of the number showed up in vaccination centers to receive them.”

Sensing this “downward trend,” the NVOC has announced that it would instead bring the booster shot drive to the workplaces, in a bid to encourage more people to have it out of convenience. Add to that, the NVOC is also proposing a new round of national vaccination drives to bring inoculation closer to the homes and workplaces of citizens. Priority for the boosters, Cabotaje said, will still be the healthcare workers, the personnel of government agencies, plus the economic frontliners.

As per guidelines from the DOH, adults ages 18 years old and above are eligible to receive a booster shot three months after completing their original vaccine dosage. The NVOC, however, said that no official policy was issued yet regarding booster shots for those 17 years old and below.

Malacanang also supported this call from the NVOC. In a statement, Cabinet Secretary and Acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles said that the public is urged to get booster shots. “Many of us are asking: ‘Why do we need booster shots?’ Covid-19 cases are dropping in the country.  This, however, is a misguided point of view. We still need additional protection. As they say, it is better to be safe than sorry.”

Nograles reiterated the safety and efficacy of the vaccines, supported by data from DOH noting that “serious adverse events following immunization are very rare and its current rate is less than 0.00003 as of Feb. 19, 2022.”

So, what must be done to have more Filipinos “boosted” and protected by new variants that may enter the country, since technically, the world is still under a pandemic?  Do we have to coerce people to take a booster? Does the government need to incentivize the booster drive? Or do employers need to release an ultimatum for their employees to have a booster in order to work?

This early, government agencies ruled out the forced imposition of the booster shots, preferring instead to further encourage people or to make it more convenient for them to take the jab. At the moment, this may be the best way to move forward and push up the number of boosted individuals. But once the number plateaus or dips further and cases of new Covid infections rise exponentially, the government has no choice but to stop “softballing” the nation and put it once again under hard lockdown.