Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 15) — Rather than rolling out the COVID-19 vaccination program to children aged 12 to 17, a health reform advocate said the government must give additional protection to healthcare workers instead.
Dr. Tony Leachon, the government’s former pandemic task force special adviser, said healthcare workers should be given a third COVID-19 shot.
The medical frontliners who received Sinovac doses back in March may be experiencing a waning of antibodies six months into their inoculation, he said.
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines must be given to those more at risk of severe COVID-19, especially since the delivery of these two vaccine brands isn’t complete yet, he also said.
“Since the kids are at home and they are low risk, perhaps the government should prioritize the healthcare workers in terms of giving the higher efficacy rate vaccine that is Pfizer to the ones given Sinovac last March,” Leachon told CNN Philippines.
The government is rolling out the first phase of adolescent vaccination on Friday. Children with comorbidities are only allowed to receive Pfizer or Moderna shots since they are the two brands allowed for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration.
Leachon said the vaccination of minors aged 12 to 17 should wait until the first quarter of 2022.
The government has not yet authorized administering a third shot despite the recommendation of a World Health Organization panel to give it to the elderly and immunocompromised adults who may not have had a strong enough immune response from the first two doses. A third dose is different from a booster shot, which is given to people whose immune response may have weakened over time.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, in an interview, said an additional shot for health workers will deprive others of their first shot.
