Individuals who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will now only wait for three months before they receive their booster shots after the national government approved the shorter interval, the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday.
Health Sec. Francisco Duque III said the Food and Drug Administration approved the reduced waiting time, which was originally set at a minimum of six months.
"The FDA grants the amendment on the administration of a booster dose, at least three months after the second dose of a primary 2-dose vaccine, and at least two to three months after primary 1-dose vaccine is given," FDA Director-General Eric Domingo said in a letter addressed to the DOH.
Currently, COVID-19 vaccines like AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer, Sinovac, or Sputnik are two-dose vaccines while Janssen is the sole single-dose vaccine approved in the Philippines.
"We are exploring all possible options to safely mitigate the effects of more transmissible variants of COVID-19," Duque said in a statement.
"The approval came at an opportune time as several countries also re-strategize in light of the Omicron and other COVID-19 variants that may emerge," he added.
According to Duque, operational guidelines on this shortened interval have yet to be released.
