The private sector is already looking at booster shots that can address new variants of Covid-19.
“We are looking at the bivalent boosters, but this may be possible towards the latter part of 2022,” said Go Negosyo Founder Jose Maria A. Concepcion III in a news statement issued on Wednesday.
Vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna have recently announced the availability of bivalent boosters, which can target both the original ancestral virus strain and elements of the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants.
“This would be much better for the third boosters because it offers much more protection,” Concepcion said.
In relation to this, the Go Negosyo founder suggested narrowing down the future Covid-19 purchases to only two brands to make the process easier to manage and for greater clarity on the guidelines on who are allowed and prioritized in the vaccinations.
Further, Concepcion stressed that the interplay between supply and demand depending on the behavior among Filipinos should also be considered when purchasing vaccines.
“We must also take into consideration the volatile nature of vaccine supply and demand. We saw demand rise when the variants caused cases to go up, and drop when people became complacent,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Go Negosyo founder welcomed recent strides by the Department of Health (DOH) to fast track inoculation by making vaccines more accessible and by proposing to redefine a fully vaccinated status to one that includes a first booster shot.
“I am glad that the proposals put forward by the private sector over the last year are now being revisited by the government,” Concepcion said.
However, he noted that these steps must be taken without getting in the way of the country’s economic recovery, adding that future procurements must also consider bivalent boosters, or those that target Covid-19 variants.
The Go Negosyo founder stressed anew the importance of keeping the economy open.
“We already achieved so much in reopening the economy. While most cases today may not be as serious, we cannot be complacent and lose our momentum at a time when the global economy is facing serious challenges with rising prices and interest rates. We must reinforce our wall of immunity without interruption to our economic recovery,” said Concepcion.
Department of Health Officer in Charge Rosario Vergeire recently directed the new head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that Covid-19 vaccines are accessible to the public, and to find out which vaccine manufacturers plan to apply for a Certificate of Product Registration (CPR).
Vergeire also announced plans to revive proposals to redefine a fully vaccinated status to include a first booster shot, as well as the replacement of a portion of private sector vaccines by the World Health Organization (WHO)’s COVAX facility.
“We remain committed to the vaccination efforts and whatever vaccine replacements are welcome. Even without our own supply, we will be facilitating the vaccination of our employees through the LGUs because they are Filipino citizens and are entitled to the free vaccines from the government,” said Concepcion. The continuing push for boosters is in line with Go Negosyo’s “Isa Pa” campaign to encourage booster vaccinations.