PRRD rejects Covid-19 booster shots

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday thumbed down the administration of third dose of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19 vaccine among fully-vaccinated individuals. In his prerecorded Talk to the People, Duterte expressed dismay that there are some who are still not satisfied with getting the two vaccine doses against Covid-19. He told those fully vaccinated individuals that receiving “multiple” shots of coronavirus vaccine is “dangerous.” “You know, there are people really who are not contented or hindi sila kampante sa (or not confident about) second or third [Covid-19 vaccine] shot,” Duterte said. “It is not good. ‘Yung iba kasi, nagpapa-ano eh, segurista (Others want to feel secure). But any doctor will tell you that it is bad. Bad as bad. Biruin mo, i-inject mo ang marami (Imagine, you want multiple vaccine shots).” Duterte said being inoculated with two doses of Covid-19 vaccine is already enough. He added that getting a booster shot is not tantamount to having “full” protection against the coronavirus. “Tama na ‘yang dalawang doses, huwag ninyong sobrahan. Delikado (Two doses are enough. Do not get multiple shots. It’s dangerous),” Duterte said. “Merong iba, may second, third, fourth, fifth. Hindi naman kailangan (Others want second (third, fourth, and fifth vaccine dose). And it does not add really to the full protection of your body. You can even get contaminated again.” Duterte also told fully vaccinated Filipinos that they would deprive others who want to get inoculated, should they get booster shots, considering the limited supply of vaccines in the country. “Alam mo (You know), when you do that, a multiple (doses), hindi ka magsabi ng totoo (and you will not tell the truth), you deprive your countrymen, the others na hindi pa sa isang bakuna na maibigay doon sa kapwa mo tao (who have yet to get vaccinated),” he said. Duterte then called on fully vaccinated individuals to care for others who have yet to receive the Covid-19 vaccine jabs. “Akala mo (You think), in your poor judgment, kailangan mo pa ng tatlo, apat (you need three or four doses). You deprive the others maski na sabihin mo isa, dalawa (even if you get one or two additional shots). There are a lot of Filipinos who have yet to receive the vaccine. Kindly be so passionate about it, sa kapwa mo tao (your fellow Filipinos),” Duterte said. As of Wednesday, a total of 45,147,577 Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered nationwide. Around 21,103,317 individuals have already been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, while 24,044,260 others have received the first shot of the vaccine. Duterte has approved the vaccination of the general population, including minors, in October to ramp up the government’s immunization drive. Duterte expressed hope that the number of fully vaccinated individuals will rise to around 25 million by October. “Major cities in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao have reached the 34-percent mark in terms of fully-vaccinated individuals and several have almost reached 50 percent. The percentage of partially vaccinated individuals in various regions follow closely and we hope that this will increase in the coming weeks and months ahead,” he said. (PNA)