Following the announcement of the Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday that the rollout of the first booster or third dose for the rest of the non-immunocompromised adolescents aged 12 to 17 has been postponed, the National Covid-19 Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) assured that they will be releasing the implementation guidelines “very soon.”
The DOH and NVOC is set to implement “very soon” the first booster or third dose of a Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for all adolescents aged 12 to 17 at least five months after the second dose of the primary series, regardless of the brand of the primary series vaccine.
This follows the vaccination of the immunocompromised from the same population group, which started last June 23, 2022.
The DOH noted that any Covid-19 vaccine dose to be rolled out, there must be an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); a positive recommendation by the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) based on a World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation; and NVOC implementation guidelines.
“NVOC would like to thank our esteemed colleagues in the HTAC for their support in boosting our wall of immunity. We appreciate their work as experts ensuring the most cost-effective and beneficial use of our health resources,” said Undersecretary of Health and incoming NVOC Incident Manager Maria Rosario Vergeire.
The HTAC reaffirmed its support for the efficient and effective implementation of the Covid-19 vaccination program for all adolescents to achieve high coverage and protection. The DOH and its expert groups join the HTAC in reiterating the importance of improving the coverage of the primary series and also the first booster of all adults.
The vaccination of non-immunocompromised adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old has been postponed, according to the DOH, was in favor of “better planning” between the National Covid-19 Vaccination Operations and local government vaccination units.