GO Negosyo founder Jose Maria “Joey” Concepcion 3rd on Wednesday said the private sector is looking at “bivalent” boosters to “reinforce our wall of immunity without interruption to our economic recovery.”

Concepcion made the statement as he welcomed recent moves of the Department of Health (DoH) to increase vaccinations by making vaccines more accessible and by proposing to redefine a fully vaccinated status to one that includes a first booster shot.

“I am glad that the proposals put forward by the private sector over the last year are now being revisited by the government,” he said in a statement.

Concepcion, however, said that these steps must be taken without interruptions to the economic recovery, and that future procurements must also consider bivalent boosters or those that target Covid variants.

He said the private sector is already looking at boosters that can address new variants.

“We are looking at the bivalent boosters, but this may be possible toward the latter part of 2022,” Concepcion said.

“This would be much better for the third boosters because it offers much more protection,” he added.

Vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna recently announced the availability of bivalent boosters which can target both the original ancestral virus strain and elements of the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants.

In April, Concepcion pushed for the redefinition of fully vaccinated status, and in June, he called for vaccine manufacturers to apply for a Certificate of Product Registration (CPR).

The latter will ensure a continuous supply of vaccines for the country before the State of Public Health Emergency ends on September 12, unless it is extended by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

The Go Negosyo founder stressed that “what is important today is to keep the economy open.”

“We already achieved so much in reopening the economy. While most cases today may not be as serious, we cannot be complacent and lose our momentum at a time when the global economy is facing serious challenges with rising prices and interest rates,” he said.

“We must reinforce our wall of immunity without interruption to our economic recovery,” Concepcion added.

DoH Officer in Charge Rosario Vergeire recently directed the new head of the Food and Drug Administration to ensure that Covid vaccines are accessible to the public and to find out which vaccine manufacturers plan to apply for a CPR.

Vergeire also announced plans to revive proposals to redefine a fully vaccinated status to include a first booster shot, as well as the replacement of a portion of private sector vaccines by the World Health Organization’s Covax Facility.

“We remain committed to the vaccination efforts and whatever vaccine replacements are welcome. Even without our own supply, we will be facilitating the vaccination of our employees through the LGUs because they are Filipino citizens and are entitled to the free vaccines from the government,” Concepcion said.

The continuing push for boosters is in line with Go Negosyo’s “Isa Pa” campaign to encourage booster vaccinations.

Moving forward, the Go Negosyo founder suggested limiting future purchases to only two brands to make the process easier to manage, and for greater clarity on the guidelines on who are allowed and prioritized in the vaccinations.

“We must also take into consideration the volatile nature of vaccine supply and demand. We saw demand rise when the variants caused cases to go up, and drop when people became complacent,” he said.