Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Monday warned doctors giving booster shots to follow government protocols or face sanctions.
The warning was given by Vergeire in an online media forum after she was asked to comment on the admission of San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora in an event in San Juan that he had received two booster shots. He said that he received Sinopharm vaccine in December and was given two Pfizer booster shots later after he completed his 2 doses of Sinopharm.
On the reported booster shots of Zamora, Vergeire said: “Hindi kami na-inform [We were not informed].”
“Uulitin ko, mixing and matching and booster doses ay hindi pa po nirerekomenda sa ngayon. Sana wag muna mag-embark dito. [I would like to repeat this, mixing and matching and booster doses are not yet recommended as of now. I hope that we will not embark on this],”Vergeire said.
The DOH official reminded doctors that “Meron tayong emergency use authority. Kung ano ang nasa EUA, ’yan ang gamit ng bakuna. Mag-ingat tayo dahil kapag may violations, maaaring magkaroon ng sanctions [We have an emegency use authority (EUA). What is stated in the EUA, that is how vaccine should be used. Let us be careful because if there are violations, there would be sanctions].”
“Sana ay sumunod tayo sa protocols ng gobyerno dahil ito ay base sa siyensya [I am hoping that we all follow the protocols of the government because this is science-based],”Vergeire reminded physicians.
She also emphasized that there is still an unstable vaccine supply in the country and that the importance of ensuring equitable vaccine distribution should be prioritized before giving booster shots.
She added that even for health-care workers, a booster shot is not yet recommended.
“Let’s give everybody a chance to get vaccinated first before we think about having booster doses,” she emphasized.