Health officials in Cebu City are encouraging immunocompromised individuals to get their second booster shot for added protection against COVID-19. | file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Immunocompromised individuals should get a second booster shot of the COVID-19, a top Cebu City Health official said on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.
Doctor Jeffrey Ibones, the acting Cebu City Health Officer, said that it has been around two weeks since they opened all fixed vaccination sites for the second booster for immuno-compromised individuals.
Since the last week of April 2022, Cebu City was only able to administer the second booster for around 200 immunocompromised individuals, which Ibones admits is lower than expected.
Immunocompromised individuals include people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), active cancer or malignancy, transplant recipients, undergoing steroid treatment, patients with poor prognosis or bedridden patients, and other conditions of immunodeficiency as certified by a physician.
“Kung kaya nila mowalk-in open ra gyod tanan natong vaccination sites. Need lang gyod nilag proof nga immunocompromised sila. If nagdialysis sila or chemotherapy, mas maayong naay certificate gikan sa ilang doctor nga pwede sila bakunahan,” said Ibones.
The Cebu City Health Department (CHD) is also reaching out to hospitals, dialysis centers, oncologists (doctors specializing in cancer), and others to encourage immunocompromised patients to get a second booster shot.
Ibones said the city is willing to bring the vaccination to the hospitals and medical centers if necessary so that these immunocompromised individuals will no longer travel to get the shot.
He added that immunocompromised individuals are the most vulnerable to COVID-19 even if fully vaccinated because their bodies may find it difficult to combat the virus once infected.
For now, the second booster is only allowed for immunocompromised individuals. The CHD encourages the public to wait for the announcement for the roll-out of the second booster shot to the rest of the population. /rcg
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