DOH: No COVID-19 calamity state, no bivalent jabs

Commuters endure the long queue as they wait in line to hop on a bus at the Roosevelt Avenue bus station along EDSA in Quezon City.

STAR / Jesse Bustos

MANILA, Philippines —The Department of Health (DOH) warned yesterday that the country’s purchase of bivalent vaccines may no longer push through if the state of calamity due to COVID-19 will not be extended.

“If the extension will not be approved, we can still continue with the COVID-19 vaccination program using existing doses, considering their validity is hinged on their Emergency Use Authorizations. But we cannot procure additional doses, including the bivalent vaccines,” it said in a statement.?

Bivalent vaccines are new generation jabs that target specific variants of COVID-19, notably the more transmissible Omicron.

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/12/31/2234367/doh-no-covid-19-calamity-state-no-bivalent-jabs