Govt to expand Resbakuna sa Botika nationwide by mid-Feb

The Philippine government plans to expand its 'Resbakuna sa Botika' program, which offers COVID-19 booster shots in pharmacies, nationwide by mid-February.

This initiative, which began with a pilot test in seven Metro Manila pharmacies, aims to make COVID-19 vaccinations more accessible and efficient.

The program will expand to the entire NCR and Regions 3 and 4A in Phase 2, with a nationwide rollout targeted for the second week of February.

Only booster shots will be administered by pharmacists at participating drugstores.

The expansion of 'Resbakuna sa Botika' is part of the government's broader goal to achieve a vaccination target of 77 million Filipinos by the end of the first quarter.

As of Saturday, 1,860 individuals aged 18 and above have received booster shots since the program's launch.

An integrated system managed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Department of Health will support the program in partnership with the pharmacies.