Yearly COVID-19 vaccination may only be for elderly, select health workers –expert

An infectious diseases expert said Monday that the suggested yearly COVID-19 vaccination program may only be apt for senior citizens and highly exposed healthcare workers.

Dr. Edsel Salvana, who is also a member of the Department of Health (DOH) Technical Advisory Group, explained that the agency had not yet decided if they would push through with such a plan, pending the arrival of the bivalent COVID-19 vaccines in the country which could better protect against the Omicron variant.

“Hindi rin naman natin alam kung gaano ka-effective ‘yung magiging… itong mga bivalent boosters. Baka sapat na tuloy-tuloy na, baka rin naman ma-suppress niya talaga ‘yung mutations ng virus dahil mas onti ang nahahawa,” Salvana said in a public briefing.

(We still don't know how effective these bivalent boosters will be. Maybe it's better if the vaccination will continue, maybe it could suppress the mutations of the virus because fewer people are infected.)

“Sa tingin ko hindi pa rin naman sigurado ‘yun na kinakailangan ng boosters every year. Mas malamang, kung mangyayari man ‘yun, it’s really in selected populations katulad ng elderly and maybe the highly exposed na mga healthcare workers,” he added.

(I think it's still not decided if those boosters will be needed every year. If it happens, it’s more likely in selected populations such as the elderly and maybe the highly exposed healthcare workers.)

In March, former National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) Chairperson and Health Undersecretary Dr. Myrna Cabotaje said that the Philippine government was studying the possibility of conducting a yearly COVID-19 vaccination program.

Another infectious diseases expert, Dr. Rontgene Solante, had also said that  annual or bi-annual vaccinations were a possible option to maintain protection against more severe COVID-19 variants. This was because the immunity from COVID-19 vaccines wanes after six to eight months.

At least 73.7 million Filipinos are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 21 million have received their booster shots, based on the DOH’s national COVID-19 vaccination dashboard.

Public health emergency

Further, Salvana was inclined to share the view of the World Health Organization (WHO), which hoped that COVID-19 would no longer be a global health emergency in 2023.

“We are very optimistic na ‘yun na nga ang mangyayari. Nakikita naman natin na mas resilient naman talaga ang ating healthcare system ngayon. The number of cases remains low, mababa din ang ating healthcare utilization, marami tayong reserve capacity, at marami nang nabakunahan, at nananatili ang paggamit sa mask sa nakakaraming Pilipino,” he said.

(We are very optimistic that that will happen. We can see that our healthcare system is more resilient today. The number of cases remains low, our healthcare utilization is also low, we have a lot of reserve capacity, and many have been vaccinated, and many Filipinos still use face masks)

Salvana said that the decision on the matter may be announced in the first quarter of next year as WHO is set to meet in January.

He, however, emphasized that COVID-19 would still be present even if the state of a public health emergency was lifted.

“Baka sabihin na nila na hindi na ito emergency. Bagamat hindi ibig sabihin ay hindi na tayo magi-ingat dahil ang COVID ay nandyan pa rin. Natuto lang talaga tayo na iwasan ito at ma-manage ito. But hindi ito lisenysa na sabihin natin na hayaan na,” Salvana said.

(They might say it's no longer an emergency. Although it doesn't mean we won't be careful anymore because COVID is still there. We just really learned to avoid it and manage it. But this is not a license to set it aside.)

“Very important to recognize na ‘pag sinabi nilang tapos na ang emergency phase, ibig sabihin ‘yung threat na ma-overwhelm ‘yung healthcare system natin is very unlikely because we already have the measures in place,” he added.

(It’s very important to recognize that when they say that the emergency phase is over, it means that the threat of our healthcare system being overwhelmed is very unlikely because we already have the measures in place.)

DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire on Monday also expressed hope that the state of public health emergency due to COVID-19 would come to an end in 2023.

The state of public health emergency in the Philippines was declared in March 2020, the onset of the pandemic, by then-President Rodrigo Duterte.

Under Proclamation 922, the state of a public health emergency would remain in force and effect until lifted or withdrawn by the President. — DVM, GMA Integrated News