DOH mulls allowing people ages 50 to 59 to receive 2nd booster shot

The Department of Health is studying the possibility of allowing adults between the ages of 50 and 59 to get a second COVID-19 booster shot.

"Actually, we started our discussions with our experts last week, and we are studying which sectors can be added. We are looking at the evidence," Health Undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a mix of Filipino and English at the Laging Handa briefing on Saturday.

"We are also looking at whether 50 to 59-year-olds could be included, as well as immunocompromised frontliners," she added.

Should the experts recommend expanding the coverage to this age group, Vergeire said the emergency use authorization issued by the Food and Drug Administration must be amended.

"Discussions are ongoing. We will be presenting to the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) on Monday and in case there will be an approval from our officials, we will be processing and facilitating this with the FDA and our HTAC (Health Technology Assessment Council)," she said.

At present, only frontline healthcare workers, senior citizens, and immunocompromised individuals are qualified for the second booster shot.

Meanwhile, about 100 immunocompromised 12 to 17-year-olds have received their booster doses following its rollout this week.

"Hopefully, in the coming weeks we will see a slow increase of 12 to 17-year olds who have received their booster doses because they really need them," Vergeire said, as she assured that there is a sufficient supply of Pfizer booster doses. —VBL, GMA News