Duque: Only 9% of COVID-19 vaccine recipients missed schedule for 2nd dose

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III clarified on Thursday that only 9% of COVID-19 vaccine recipients missed their schedule for the second dose, contrary to an expert’s earlier statement that half of inoculated individuals missed their second shot.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Duque said some vaccine recipients might have missed the schedule for their second dose due to illness or personal matters, among other reasons.

“Hindi naman nangangahulugan na hindi na sila pwedeng magpabakuna for the second dose. Kahit na mahuli ka ng ilang araw o kahit na sabihin mong linggo, pwede ka pa rin,” he said.

(It doesn’t mean that they can’t get their second dose if they miss their schedule. Even if you’re late by days or weeks, you can still get your second dose.)

“‘Yung epekto ng bakuna na gusto mong makamit, nando’n pa rin, maaabot mo pa rin (The effect of the vaccine that you want can still be achieved),” he added.

Not vaildated

Duque said the claim of EpiMetrics Inc.'s Dr. John Wong that around 50% of vaccine recipients failed to return for their second dose was not validated with the Department of Health (DOH) prior to a forum on Wednesday.

“Nakalimutan yata no’ng eksperto na karamihan sa mga bakuna, dumating lang ng April and May. Meron tayong tinatawag na interval between the first and second dose. Hindi naman ngayon ka nagpa-inheksyon ng first dose mo, bukas [ng] umaga second dose ka na,” he said.

(The expert must have forgotten that most of our vaccines only arrived in April and May. There is an interval between the first and second dose. It’s not as if you get your second dose the morning after you get your first injection.)

Duque explained that the interval between two COVID-19 vaccine doses ranges from 21 days for Sputnik V to 12 weeks for AstraZeneca, adding that over 2 million individuals got the British-made vaccine.

The Philippines has vaccinated over 3.9 million individuals as of May 30, still far from the government’s target of inoculating 58 million people in COVID-19 hotspots by November.

The DOH has repeatedly reminded the public to take their second dose as scheduled “to acquire full protection against the severe form of COVID-19 and avoid hospitalization.” -MDM, GMA News