DOH says COVID-19 vaccine second dose may be delayed up to 6 months

MANILA - The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday said the second dose of several COVID-19 vaccines may be administered as late as 6 months after the initial jab.

"In the list of vaccines we have against COVID-19, 3 to 6 months is still acceptable to give the second dose without repeating the series," Health spokesperson and Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online press conference.

"May mga pagkakataon kasi talaga na nami-miss ang second dose. Maybe they got infected or they were exposed and they got quarantined or mayroon pang ibang circumstances na nangyari kaya hindi sila nakapagpabakuna on that scheduled date," she said.

Vaccine experts found evidence and conducted studies that show the second dose of the following jabs may still be effective if it would be delayed as follows:

• Moderna - up to 6 weeks after first dose
• Pfizer - up to 6 weeks after first dose
• Sinovac - as soon as possible
• Sputnik V - up to 90 days after first dose

Vergeire did not mention up to how many days the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine can be administered after the first jab.

Several Filipinos have complained of missing their second dose of COVID-19 inoculants due to the lack of vaccine supply in several cities.

As of July 4, a total of 11,708,029 doses of the anti-virus jabs have been administered in the country. Of the figure, 8,839,124 were given as first dose, while 2,868,905 were second doses.

• Philippines administers 11.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines