COVID-19 vaccines for kids aged 5-11 to be distributed in vax sites on Feb. 5---DOH exec

The government will start distributing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines for children aged five to 11 in the different pediatric vaccination centers starting Saturday, Feb. 5, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said.

“Starting ng madaling araw ng 5 ay idedeliver na po iyan (early morning of 5, these will be delivered),” said DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje during a public briefing on Friday, Feb. 4.

The government is set to rollout the COVID-19 vaccination for the said age group on Monday, Feb. 7. The program will initially be conducted in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon. This will be expanded in other regions by Feb. 14, said Cabotaje.

The vaccination of kids aged five to 11 was supposed to happen on Friday, Feb. 4, but was postponed due to a delay in vaccine delivery. The vaccines were supposed to be delivered on Thursday, Feb. 3.

Cabotaje said about 780,000 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses, which will be used for this age group, will arrive in the country on Friday night.

“It has already left Brussels. It was in Hong Kong and it's going to arrive tonight. Mayroon na rin kaming mga allocation per area depende kung ano yung immediate na nai-submit nilang registration (We also already have allocations per area depending on the number of registrations submitted),” she said.

3rd national vaccination drive

In a related development, the government is set to hold the third national vaccination drive on Feb .10 and 11.

Cabotaje said that the goal of this move is to increase the vaccination rate in areas with still low numbers of vaccinated individuals.

The DOH official emphasized the importance of vaccinating senior citizens because they are vulnerable to COVID-19.

“ nationwide para mabigyan diin na kailangan magbakuna na mga for first doses tapos yung mga boosters. Importante ang pag ramp up ng pagbabakuna para sa ating A2 and A3 (in order to encourage more people to get their first dose and those eligible for booster shots. It is important to ramp up vaccination for our A2 and A3),” said Cabotaje.

“Ipa-prioritize natin sa mga areas na kailangan ng additional boost para tumaas ang kanilang vaccination coverage, especially sa senior citizens (We will prioritize areas that need additional boost to increase their vaccination coverage, especially for senior citizens),” she added.