The Department of Health (DOH) said on Friday that the primary series of shots and boosters Filipinos received during the early waves of COVID-19 may still provide “residual immunity”.
But he stressed that might have to get new vaccines to deal with emerging new variants dubbed “FLiRT”—the variant KP.2 and KP.3—which are now being monitored.
The two new variants display amino acid changes in the spike protein found in the COVID-19 virus.
“It’s not as severe as the Alpha and Delta variants but we still have residual immunity from the vaccines. We need to strengthen the remaining immunity,” DOH Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said in an interview with ABS-CBN.
According to Domingo, however, only those struck by severe cases might be able to avail of the reformulated vaccines because of the cost.
“It depends on the severity. We have seen with KP.2 and KP.3, which are the proper names for the FLiRT variants, based on data from Singapore and other countries. It’s not severe – it’s mostly cough and colds. If we say we will purchase new vaccines, that’s another story. That means we will have to spend billions again,” he explained.
“Where will we get the funding? Which vaccines will be defunded – pertussis, measles, tuberculosis? We have to make the decision. Another option is to not give everyone vaccine, may just those who are high-risk. But what’s important is to bring the new vaccines here in the country,” he added.
Domingo said that the only possibility he can see in order to bring the reformulated vaccines into the country is through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He said manufacturers of the said vaccines can apply for Certificate of Production Registration (CPR).
Domingo said, “As we speak, we don’t have that here in the Philippines. There is no sufficient data to determine whether they work or if the manufacturers need to create a new vaccine or not.”
He also added that if the government deems the new variant less virulent, manufacturers might not think of spending huge amounts of money for the making of new strains. It would be wiser to wait for instructions as to the effectiveness of the existing vaccines against the new variants, at least the latest strains.