MANILA— The Philippines began administering second COVID-19 booster shots to immunocompromised individuals on Monday, joining an increasing number of Asian countries that give a fourth vaccine dose.
Based on the government data, about 61% of the Philippines’ 110 million population have been vaccinated, while nearly 13 million people have received first booster doses.
Of 690,000 people deemed most vulnerable, between 7,000 and 13,000 have been initially targeted for the second round of boosters, to increase protection against COVID and its variants.
“Because of increasing vaccination coverage, while COVID-19 is still there, in the near future we can consider this as an endemic disease,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque told a public forum.
South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore have all approved the use of the second booster, which is hoping to prevent a coronavirus resurgence, particularly among its elderly, as it removes most remaining curbs this week.
Despite efforts to restore an economy that shrunk more than 9% in 2020 after being one of Asia’s fastest-growing before the pandemic, the Philippines has been cautious in reopening.
According to a Reuters global data tracker, with 3.68 million cases overall and more than 60,000 deaths, the country has suffered one of the worst COVID crises in Southeast Asia, although new daily infections have fallen significantly, now at an average 207 per day, just 1% of the peak.
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