Senior Citizen Partylist Representative Rodolfo “Ompong” Ordanes said that there is an urgent need for Filipinos, especially the elderly, to get boosted amid fewer people getting vaccinated and boosted.
Ordanes cited in a statement on July 3 that the Department of Health (DOH) previously said that the primary doses’ protection declines in three to four months after the second dose. But less than 15 million people have gotten their boosters, and fewer than 71 million received their primary dose, Ordanes said.
“Mga kababayan, lalo na ang mga kapwa ko nakatatanda, humuhupa po ang bisa ng primary doses, hindi po yan forever. Kaya no choice po tayo, kailangan talaga nating magpa-booster shot kung ayaw po nating magkasakit nang malubha at makahawa ng ating mga mahal sa buhay [To my fellow citizens, especially those who are elderly, the effectiveness of the primary doses is waning. They won’t work forever. So we don’t have a choice. We really need to get our booster shot if we don’t want to get sick and transmit the illness to our loved ones,” ,” he added.
Ordanes also said that those who got vaccinated in 2020 or 2021 should get boosted now, especially if they belong to the A1, A2, and A3 categories.
“Libre naman po ang booster mga lolo at lola and it only takes a few minutes of our time dahil may express lane tayo sa lahat ng vax sites. [The boosters for elderly men and women are free, and it only takes a few minutes of our time because we have express lanes in all vaccination sites.] Now that vaccines for kids older than five years old are available, everyone in those age levels must get first their primary doses and later their boosters,” Ordanes said.
Ordanes noted that the DOH is already in preliminary talks to buy the Paxlovid, and said that he will support the decision of the DOH on Paxlovid.
Meanwhile, he added that the DOH and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the signal for the filing of applications for certificate of product registration.
He said that the applicants must meet the requirements and processes issued by the FDA Philippines.
Photo Credit: (PNA photo by Ben Briones)