The Muntinlupa City government has vaccinated more than 500 minors aged 12 to 17 years old with comorbidities in five days.
From Oct. 25 to 29, a total of 561 minors, classified under Pediatric A3 group, were vaccinated at the city-run Ospital ng Muntinlupa, designated by the Department of Health (DOH) as one of the pilot hospitals for the inoculation of minors.
OsMun medical director Dr. Edwin Dimatatac said 72 minors were vaccinated on the first day on Oct. 25 followed by 126 on Oct. 26, 108 on Oct. 27, 102 on Oct. 28 and 153 on Oct. 29 for a total of 561.
As of Oct. 28, 15,817 children aged 12 to 17 years old have registered with the Muntinlupa City COVID-19 Vaccination Program. The total is equivalent to 29 percent of the estimated total population of 55,391 for the age group in the city.
Of the 15,817 minor registrants, 1,148, or 7.25 percent, have comorbidities. By barangay, out of the 15,817, Putatan has the highest number of registrants with 2,682 followed by Poblacion, 2,166; Tunasan, 1,960; Alabang, 1,789; Cupang, 1,384; Sucat, 919; Bayanan, 864; Ayala Alabang, 718; and Buli, 228. Non-residents who registered totaled 3,107.
Pfizer-BioNTech is currently being used for the vaccination of minors. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna were earlier approved by the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in people 12 years old and above.
During the “Laging Handa” public briefing on Oct. 29, Dr. Mary Ann Bunyi, president of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines, said the since the start of the vaccination of minors with comorbidities, less than one percent of the total vaccinees were reported to have experienced adverse or side effects.
“The most common that was reported is pain on the injection site. There were also reports of headache and lethargy but these were momentary and were mild reactions only,” she said, adding that based on their observation, the side effects only lasted for two days and they were gone by the third day.
Regarding vaccine acceptance, Bunyi said so far, they have not received any concerns from the parents and children.
Bunyi said the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine dosage being given to minors is the same as those in adults.