P45B needed for COVID-19 booster shots 'unprogrammed' under proposed 2022 budget

The Duterte administration is planning to purchase COVID-19 vaccine booster shots in 2022 for P45 billion, but the source of the fund has yet to be determined.

Based on presidential spokesperson Harry Roque's presentation on Thursday, the P45-billion budget for the booster shots is under "Unprogrammed Appropriations," meaning this item will only be funded if the government will be able to raise enough money for it.

The Department of Budget and Management defines Unprogrammed Appropriations as those "which provide standby authority to incur additional agency obligations for priority programs or projects when revenue collection exceed targets, and when additional grants of foreign funds are generated."

“This is just preliminary. Of course, this can be changed by Congress,” Roque said at a press briefing.

Roque on July 29 said the budget for purchasing COVID-19 vaccine booster shots is guaranteed under the 2022 budget. 

Dr. Nini Gloriani, a member of the government's Vaccine Expert Panel, earlier said there is no need to get a booster shot just yet since COVID-19 vaccines are effective against preventing severe COVID-19 and deaths for six to eight months, except for AstraZeneca which could be effective for up to a year.

In a separate briefing earlier in the day, Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said the Department of Health (DOH) is considering the inclusion of COVID-19 booster shots in the 2022 budget.

Cabotaje, chief of the National Vaccination Operations Center, said the DOH All Experts Group has yet to recommend booster shots.

“Pinag-aaralan pa ‘yan kung kailangan ng booster, although we are considering it in the 2022 budget. Wala pa kasing firm na recommendation ang ating mga All Experts Group,” she said in an online forum.

(The need for booster shots is still being studied, although we are considering it in the 2022 budget. There is no firm recommendation from the All Experts Group yet.) —KBK, GMA News