ZAMBOANGA CITY – The City Health Office (CHO) announced on Saturday that it has started administering booster shots to medical front-liners and senior citizens under the priority groups A1 and A2 here.

Dr. Dulce Amor Miravite, city health officer, said in a statement without stating numbers that the booster rollout in the city for these priority groups who have completed the primary vaccination series began this week.

“The vaccine booster rollout for the rest of the population will follow later,” Miravite said.

She added that it will be based on the guidelines from the Department of Health (DOH).

The DOH said earlier the vaccine booster can be given to an individual six months after receiving the second dose of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine.

However, the DOH approved on December 21 to give a single-dose booster as early as three months after the second dose for individuals that completed their AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer, Sinovac, or Sputnik jabs, and as early as two months for those that received the single-dose Janssen vaccine.

A total of 473,376 individuals or 68.14 percent of the target eligible population of 694,696 have been fully vaccinated as of December 27 in the city.

The CHO data showed that 18,055 of the fully vaccinated individuals belong to A1, while 44,451 belong to the A2 priority group.

Meanwhile, Capt. Mary Jephte Mañebog, 1st Infantry Division (ID) information officer, said Saturday a total of 201 individuals have received their Covid-19 vaccine booster at Camp Cesar-Sang-an Station Hospital (CCSSH), the military medical facility in Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur.

Mañebog said the recipients of the vaccine booster included officers, enlisted personnel, civilian employees, and dependents of 1ID personnel.

The vaccine booster doses were administered from December 27 to 30 by personnel of the CCSSH headed by Lt. Col. Jussel Parlan. (PNA)