An official of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) assured on Wednesday, Jan. 26, that it's safe to vaccinate kids aged 5 to 11 years against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
In an interview over DZBB, PMS President Dr. Benito Atienza stressed kids will become more vulnerable to COVID-19 if they are not vaccinated.
"Ang mga bata isa sa mga vulnerable na mahahawa ng COVID-19. Katulad sa ibang bansa, sa US, sa Europe ay nakapagbigay na sila ng bakuna para sa kanilang 5 to 11 years old. Katulad din naman to ng mga bakunang binibigay natin (Children are one of the most vulnerable to COVID-19. The United States and some countries in Europe have started vaccinating kids aged 5 to 11. The vaccines that will be given to them are the same vaccines that we're already administering)," Atienza said.
"Dapat mawala na yung hesitancy natin sa pagbabakuna kasi nga ito ay makakagaling sa mga bata (We should not be hesitant to vaccinated our kids because it prevent them from catching the virus)," he added.
Atienza said vaccine side effects in kids aged 5 to 11 are mostly mild and similar to those of adults.
According to the Department of Health, the possible side effects of a vaccine include pain, redness, itchiness, or swelling at the injection site, fever, feeling of weakness or fatigue, headaches, dizziness, diarrhea, or nausea.
"Mas mapanganib yung di pa mabakunahan kasi baka mahawa. Kasi di natin alam mababa pala yung resistensya ng mga bata, kaya dapat mabakunahan lahat. Gaya ng sinasabi, pag nabakunahan ka, pwede ka pa rin magkaroon , pero mild (It's more dangerous if we will not vaccinated the kids because the possibility of them getting infected is high, especially if their resistance is low. When you are vaccinated, you can still contract COVID-19, but you will only experience mild symptoms)," he added.
The Philippine government is set to vaccinate minors aged 5 to 11 beginning Feb. 4.
Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines will be used for the pediatric vaccination as this was the only vaccine brand that received emergency use approval from the Food and Drugs Administration for 5 to 11 years old.