As the government ramps up its coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination program, Senator Sonny Angara on Thursday said the local Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should start studying the feasibility of vaccinating minors, taking cue from the United States and other countries that have started inoculating teens aged 12-15 year old.
Angara said “green-lighting” certain vaccines for school-age children will address the need to protect the largest population group from COVID-19.
“In so far as expanding the administration of vaccines to other age groups, we should always be ahead of the curve,” Angara said in a statement.
“Outsmarting the virus requires the vaccination of students. There will be no return to normalcy, no herd immunity if they are not vaccinated,” he pointed out.
The senator said the first step the FDA could take is to authorize certain vaccines for certain age groups, which is “the prudent thing to do” as it complies with safety protocols.
According to Angara, the Philippines can follow the US’ lead when its FDA allowed one of its leading vaccine brands to be administered to 12 to 15-year-olds. The US already covered individuals aged 16 to 85 when the US rolled out its first jabs of the vaccine in December last year.
Singapore has also authorized the use of the same vaccine on 12 to 15-year-olds, the lawmaker cited.
“This is a signal for us to commence our own independent studies on the matter,” Angara said.
With schools closed, children have borne the brunt of the pandemic and are barely able to learn under the government’s distance learning setup, crippled as it is by poor Internet connection and lack of digital handsets.
“If they are last to be vaccinated, then we are creating a lost generation from the left behinds,” he said.
He also stressed that inoculating minors will eventually lead to the physical opening of schools and eventually liberate parents who have become teachers in a homeschool setting.
“The economy will tremendously benefit too, as schools create a vibrant auxiliary industry from canteens, school buses and transport, food providers, uniform makers,” Angara said.