The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) welcomed the initiative of some local government units (LGUs) of conducting pre-registration of individuals aged 12 to 17 years old for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination.

This move by some of the LGUs is in preparation in the event that the national government greenlights the COVID-19 vaccination for adolescents.

"It's a great initiative on the part of the LGUs na ngayon pa lang mag-umpisa na silang mag register ng mga adolescents, kasi darating naman talaga tayo doon. Darating din naman yung panahon na magbabakuna ng mga bata (that they are now starting to register adolescents, because we will definitely get there. A time will also come for children to be vaccinated)," said FDA-Director General Rolando Enrique Domingo in a recent press briefing.

"It would be good I think for LGUs to prepare para kapag sinabi ng DOH na okay we have enough , pwede na tayong mag-vaccinate ng adolescents, pwede na agad makapag roll-out (now so that when the DOH says we already have enough vaccines, we can vaccinate adolescents, we can immediately include them in the rollout)," he added.

Among the LGUs that started COVID-19 vaccination pre-registration for adolescents include Pateros, Caloocan City, and the City of Manila.

The FDA has already allowed the use of COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna for those 12 to 17 years old.

Meanwhile, the DOH said that the vaccination of those 12 to 17 years old are not yet part of the government’s vaccination program.

“To date, the vaccination of children aged 17 years old and below is not yet allowed in the country,” it said.

The DOH emphasized that the said age group is not yet included in the priority groups for vaccination.

“We need to prioritize individuals most at risk for severe COVID-19 while waiting for enough vaccine supply for the entire population,” the agency said.

The DOH advised the adult population to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect children against the viral disease.

“Register with your LGU and get vaccinated when it’s your turn and continue to follow the minimum public health standards. Protect yourself and be a shield for your children against COVID-19,” it said.