DOH releases operational guidelines on administration of booster shots for HCWs

THE Department of Health (DOH) released the operational guidelines for the administration of booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the frontline healthcare workers.

According to the guidelines, one dose will be given as booster dose, which was confirmed by Dr. Beverly Ho from the DOH Health Promotions Bureau.

Among the vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as booster dose for priority group A1 or essential healthcare workers are Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna, Sinovac, and AstraZeneca.

Vaccination with the first dose started today, November 17 at the health facilities registered under the COVID-19 Bakuna Center Registry as vaccination sites, the guidelines stated.

The NVOC or National Vaccine Operations Center will take the lead in the allocation and distribution of the vaccines depending on the requirements per region.

Included in the DOH guidelines is the administration of the booster dose at least six months after completing the vaccination using Pfizer, Moderna, Sinovac, and AstraZeneca.

Meanwhile, those who were vaccinated using the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine can be given the booster after only three months.

The healthcare worker is also allowed to choose the same brand of vaccine (homologous) or a different one (heterologous) for the booster shot.. However, this will depend on the availability of the vaccine chosen by the health worker.

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