ON HOLD. The second vaccine booster against Covid-19 for the A3 sector in Negros Oriental is still on hold. A health official said the DOH is waiting for the approval of the National Vaccination Operations Center before the additional dose can be given to persons with comorbidities. (PNA file photo)
DUMAGUETE CITY – The second coronavirus disease (Covid-19) booster shot for the A3 sector or individuals with comorbidities is put on hold pending the go-signal of the Department of Health (DOH), a health official here said Monday.
“When I asked the DOH that plenty of A3 individuals here are already pushing to have their second dose booster shots because they have comorbidities, we were told there is still no advice from the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC),” Assistant Provincial Health Officer Dr. Liland Estacion said in a virtual presser.
Second booster shots, so far, are administered to the A1 (healthcare workers) and A2 (senior citizens) sectors, and only for people belonging to A3 but are immuno-compromised, such as those with cancer, tuberculosis, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), she said.
What the province is currently focusing on is the so-called “zero-dose” individuals, those who have not received any single vaccine dose, she added.
Negros Oriental still cannot be downgraded to Alert Level 1 for failing to meet NVOC’s requirement of a certain percentage of vaccination accomplishment versus its target.
As of June 20, Provincial Health Office records showed that 661,824 individuals were fully vaccinated, including those who received the one-shot Janssen vaccine, over the target of 1,148,424 or 57.62 percent of the total target population.
Only 2,247 residents were given the second booster while 90, 742 received the first booster. (PNA)
