The Philippines on Friday logged 544 new COVID-19 cases as the country rolled out booster shots to fully vaccinated adult Filipinos.
The day's tally brought active cases to 14,977, with a total of 734 new recoveries and 235 new deaths reported.
Since the start of the pandemic, the Philippines has Tallied a total of 2,833,878 COVID-19 cases of which 2,769,914 recovered and 48,987 died.
A total of 17 duplicates were removed from the case count, 13 of which are recoveries. Another 122 cases were found to have tested negative and have been removed from the total case count. These were tagged as recoveries.
There were 218 cases tagged as recoveries and reclassified as deaths after final validation.
Metro Manila will remain under Alert Level 2, the second lowest classification under a five-step system, until Dec. 15 even as the world races to contain the new Omicron variant.
The country opened booster shot slots to all fully vaccinated adults starting today as authorities review pandemic response as the Omicron variant looms.
Individuals aged 18 and above who have been fully vaccinated for over six months are eligible to receive booster shots starting Friday, the Department of Health said.
For those who were vaccinated with the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, only a three-month interval period is prescribed before taking a booster shot.
MORE ON BOOSTER SHOTS:
Boosters Explained: How Long After Second Dose Must You Wait
Booster Shot vs Third Dose COVID Vaccine: What's the Difference?
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