Urgent Call for Full Approval of COVID-19 Vaccines and Expansion of Booster Shot Eligibility

Strategic Insights -

Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes, a senior citizen party-list member, has urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant full approval to COVID-19 vaccines with emergency use authorization (EUA), citing a jump in vaccination rates due to the issuance of a certificate of product registration. Over 68 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Ordanes requested that the Department of Health (DOH) and FDA expand the eligibility criteria for the second booster shot to include everyone under the A3 category or adults with comorbidities.

Key Takeaways:

  • The FDA is urged to grant full approval to COVID-19 vaccines with EUA to increase vaccination rates and make vaccines more widely available.
  • Over 68 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
  • Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes has asked the Department of Health (DOH) and FDA to expand the eligibility criteria for the second booster shot to include everyone under the A3 category or adults with comorbidities.
  • Currently, only senior citizens, healthcare front-liners, and the immunocompromised subset are eligible for the second booster shots.
  • Global vaccine expert panel chairperson Nina Gloriani stated that booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines are effective protection against the Omicron BA.2.12.1 subvariant.
  • Gloriani added that the protection from the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines is not enough against Omicron subvariants BA.1 and BA.2.

Statistics:

  • Over 68 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
  • 54.5 million Filipinos should receive booster shots, but only 25 percent (13.7 million) have received their first booster doses.
  • The WHO has validated 11 COVID-19 vaccines, including Convidecia, a single-dose vaccine that has an efficacy rate of 64% against symptomatic disease and 92% against severe COVID-19.

Sources:

  • "A party-list lawmaker on Friday urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant full approval to the best of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccines which only have emergency use authorizations (EUA)." - [Source: Manila Times, no date specified]
  • "Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes said the full approval would result in a jump in vaccination rates because of the "wider and easier availability" due to the issuance of the certificate of product registration." - [Source: Manila Times, no date specified]
  • "The WHO said it has reviewed Convidecia's data on quality, safety, efficacy, a risk management plan, and programmatic suitability. It also conducted a manufacturing site inspection before issuing the EUL." - [Source: World Health Organization, no date specified]
  • "Global vaccine expert panel chairperson Nina Gloriani said booster shots of the Covid-19 vaccine are effective protection against the Omicron BA.2.12.1 subvariant." - [Source: Manila Times, no date specified]