VEP chief Gloriani warns of possible COVID-19 breakthrough infections with ‘slow’ booster uptake

Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) chief Dr. Nina Gloriani on Thursday said COVID-19 breakthrough infections are likely to happen among people who have not yet received their booster doses, considering their waning immunity and the increased mobility this Christmas season.

At a public briefing, Gloriani said the administration of booster shots in the country remains slow, with only 25% of the target population receiving the first booster dose so far.

“Mabagal siya. ‘Yung dati, siguro a month or two ago, 24% na ang nabigyan ng booster eh ngayon nasa 25%. Ang tinaas niya ay konting-konti lang,” she said.

(It is slow. A month or two ago, 24% had already been given a booster. Now, it’s at 25%. It only increased a bit.)

It was Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire who said on Tuesday that at least 19.7 million Filipinos were inoculated with the first booster shot, equating to around 25% of the eligible population.

Gloriani said the public, especially the vulnerable sector, has to understand that booster shots would help increase their protection against COVID-19 and its variants.

“Waning immunity tapos increased mobility tapos ito nga po, magpa-Pasko, marami ang lumalabas, namimili, mataas ang mobility ng mga tao… ‘Pag bumaba na ‘yung antibodies, ‘yung mga T cells natin, ay ayan, magkakaron na na ulit ng possible breakthrough infections,” she said.

(They have waning immunity, increased mobility, and many of them go out and shop this Christmas... When our antibodies or T cells go down, there may be possible breakthrough infections.)

“Importante sana na maintindihan ng ating mga kababayan lalo na yung may mga edad at may mga sakit na ang booster ay nagpapataas muli ng proteksyon at especially doon sa mga variants na umiikot ngayon,” she added.

(It is important for the public to understand, especially those who are old and have diseases, that the booster shots increase their protection, especially against the variants that are circulating now.)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that a vaccine breakthrough infection happens when someone who is vaccinated with either a primary series or that with a booster dose gets infected with COVID-19.

Based on the DOH’s national COVID-19 vaccination dashboard, 73.2 million individuals are now fully vaccinated in the country.

The government launched PinasLakas in July, initially aiming to administer booster shots to 50% of the country's eligible population within the first 100 days of the Marcos administration. The DOH, however, adjusted its target to 30% after failing to meet the campaign’s daily goals since it started.

With this, Vergeire said they have to administer first COVID-19 booster doses to around 3.6 million more Filipinos to reach its PinasLakas target. — RSJ, GMA News