Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 22) — The country’s vaccine experts panel recommended a shorter interval between the primary COVID-19 shots and booster doses due to the presence of the Omicron coronavirus variant and its effect on vaccines, a member of the panel said Wednesday.
Infectious diseases expert Dr. Rontgene Solante noted that while most vaccines offer up to 70% protection against Delta and other variants, defense decreases to only 20 to 40% against Omicron because it is heavily mutated.
He said the best time to give the boosters is three months after completing the primary series — while there are still enough antibodies to be stimulated by the third dose. He added the booster shot might not produce enough antibody protection against Omicron if a person waits for four months or more.
“For you to maintain that protection, you need a third dose at this point in time. Earlier kasi [because] you need to maintain a higher antibody level against a heavily mutated variant,” he told CNN Philippines.
Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna said that preliminary data suggest their booster shots increased antibody levels against the Omicron variant.
The infectious diseases expert encouraged Filipinos to avail of booster shots as soon as they are eligible to help the country prepare for the possible spread of Omicron.
Solante added that, for now, vaccine experts are still not sure if a second booster shot is needed after six months.
Acting upon the recommendation of the vaccine experts panel to shorten the interval, the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday allowed adults fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer, Sinovac, or Sputnik V to get their booster shot after three months, while those who received the single-dose Janssen can get their booster two months after.
CNN Philippines correspondent Carolyn Bonquin contributed to this report.
