MANILA – A health official warned the public on Tuesday not to take more than the recommended amount of Covid-19 vaccine shots, stating it is “dangerous”.
Department of Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an interview over television that the vaccines are only in Phase 3 clinical trials and their long-term effects are to be monitored.
“Having said that, people have to be very cautious in using these vaccines beyond their approved use. We just want to stay within the protocol and approved guidelines,” she said.
Vergeire revealed that the DOH is aware of instances in which individuals received four to six doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
She stated that the DOH is actively monitoring those who received excessive vaccines but has not yet received reports of adverse occurrences as a result of their administration.
The DOH is urging fully vaccinated individuals who are 18 years old and above to receive their booster shots to ensure another layer of protection against the severe type of Covid-19 and death from it.
Only 11.8 million of the 45 million eligible fully vaccinated individuals have received the additional doses as mentioned in the Inter Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases.
According to Vergeire, the low number could be attributed to the belief of many that they have enough protection from the primary series of Covid-19 vaccines and from getting the infection.
“We have to remember immunity wanes, both the natural immunity and immunity coming from our vaccines. It gives you additional protection from severe hospitalization and deaths,” she added.
Based on the DOH data, a total 65,640,834 individuals are fully vaccinated as of March 27, while 11,825,403 people have received their booster shots.
Around72.93 percent of the country’s target population has been vaccinated against Covid-19.
Meanwhile, 75.56 percent of the senior citizens have been inoculated against the disease.
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