Senators weigh in on proposed mandatory COVID-19 booster shots

Senators on Tuesday weighed in on the proposal to make COVID-19 booster shots mandatory.

Senators Risa Hontiveros and Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III expressed reservations about the proposal, reiterating their stance against obligating Filipinos to get vaccines.

"Tulad ng pagtutol ko sa mandatory vaccination, di rin po ako sang-ayon sa mandatory booster. Ang dapat gawin ipagpatuloy and public health education para kumbinsihin ang mga di pa nagpapabakuna na malayang gawin ito alang-alang sa kanilang sarili, pamilya at lipunan," Hontiveros said in an interview with reporters.

(Much like my opposition to mandatory vaccinations, I am against mandatory booster shots. What we ought to do is continue with public health education to convince those who haven't been vaccinated that they have the freedom to do this for their own, family's, and society's sake.)

Hontiveros said the government needed house-to-house and barangay campaigns to ramp up the rollout of the booster shots.

Pimentel shared the same sentiment, arguing that there was "natural immunity" against COVID-19.

"Kawawa naman tayo if we are under the spell and control of big pharma. There are reports now that even those who get sick from the existing COVID-19 variants are not even immune from the other variants out there today," he said in a text message to reporters.

"That means that the supposed 'natural immunity' from the variants does not work against the other variants out there. Now, these vaccines and boosters were formulated with the non-variant and the 'earlier variants' of COVID-19 in the mind of the scientists," he added.

Pimentel then asked how the Filipinos could expect these vaccines and boosters to provide "artificial immunity" to the new existing variants for which even "natural immunity" does not even work.

In contrast, Senator Jinggoy Estrada supported mandatory COVID-19 booster shots for the adult population as the primary vaccines have "already proven" that they can protect people against the worst case of infection.

"Now that we are seeing again an increase in cases and the positivity rate, as we also expect the waning of the potency of vaccines which were administered six months ago, it is the duty of the government to decide swiftly (upon the advice of our health experts) and to implement urgent measures to protect its citizens against this dreaded disease and against another wave of economic recession and hardships that could result from another COVID surge," he said.

On the other hand, Senator Loren Legarda said she would "strongly urge" all those who were qualified, eligible, and those with comorbidities to avail of the booster shots to protect the health of the people and the workforce, especially the families.

"This is beneficial to the economy, to the education of our children, and to our own well-being," she added.

Meanwhile, Senator Nancy Binay said Filipinos are already experiencing pandemic fatigue and people have become less vigilant.

"I support the recommendation for the third shot (booster), pero dapat maging aggressive ang [Department of Health] doon sa mga nasa priority groups, paigtingin pa lalo ang pagbabakuna sa mga isolated and remote areas. Ang importante, we all agree that the paramount concern is to be fully protected from the virus," she said.

(I support the recommendation for the third booster shot, but the DOH needs to be more aggressive with priority groups, and intensify vaccinations in remote areas. What matters is we all agree that the paramount concern is to be fully protected from the virus.)

The lawmaker then suggested convening the Committee of the Whole to discuss the pending issues and concerns regarding COVID-19 such as the vaccination programs, access to boosters, the status of health workers, health and pandemic statistics, the level of preparedness, exit plans, among others.

"In my view, at the end of the day, we need to always revisit the science behind our every decision on matters of public health like having a common index and definition of what 'fully vaccinated' is or should be na compliant sa WHO or similar internationally recognized and respected organizations," said Binay.

Dr. Rontgene Solante on Monday said it was high time for the government to mandate the dispensing of booster shots to the general population as  COVID-19 infections in the country were continuing to increase.

However, the DOH said it had not yet seen the need to mandate the administration of COVID-19 booster shots, just like the primary vaccine series, despite its still-low uptake.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said some of the government’s strategies in the past were “effective” in ramping up COVID-19 vaccinations in the country even if it was not required.

She also pointed out that there was no law mandating booster inoculations. — DVM, GMA News