Minors, or those 17 years old and below, are not yet allowed to be vaccinated, government officials said.

This was the clarification made by the Muntinlupa City government on rumors spreading that those below 18 years old can now get their vaccine shot.

It said this is based on an advisory issued on July 11 by the National COVID-19 Vaccination Operations Center.

Advisory 65-A, signed by Health Usec. Myrna Cabotaje, stated that “as of July 11, 2021, pediatric/adolescent (17 years old and below) vaccination is not yet allowed.”

“The vaccination rollout will still focus on the eligible population (18 years old and above) under Priority Groups Al, A2. A3, and in some areas, including Priority Groups A4 and A5, as stipulated in the National Vaccine Deployment and Vaccination Plan (NDVP),” the advisory added.

“As of now, they cannot be allowed at vaccination sites as rumored. As per the National Vaccination Deployment Plan, we will still focus on the eligible population of 18 years old and above in the priority groups,” said Muntinlupa City Health Officer Dr. Juancho Bunyi.

As of July 9, 218,064 doses of the vaccines have been administered in Muntinlupa. Of the total, 152,900 individuals received their first dose, or 39.6 percent of the target population of 385,725.

Of the 152,900 first dose recipients, 10,928 are A1 (health workers), 19,319 are A2 (senior citizens), 64,975 are A3 (persons with comorbidities), 49,396 are A4 (essential workers) and 8,282 are A5 (poor population).

In addition, 65,164 individuals received their second dose, or 16.9 percent of the target population.

The Muntinlupa City government received 22,780 new doses of AstraZeneca vaccine over the weekend, which will be deployed at vaccination sites starting Tuesday.