The national government and local government units (LGUs) are well prepared for the launching of the pediatric vaccination of children age five- to 11-years-old against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Monday, Feb. 7.
Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., vaccine czar and chief implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19, will grace the ceremonial vaccination at the National Children’s Hospital at 9 a.m. and at Skydome, SM North EDSA at 2 p.m., both in Quezon City.
“It’s all systems go, the six vaccination sites in Metro Manila and two sites in Region 4A are ready. We are very thankful for the overwhelming support of the parents and the Philippine Pediatric Society,” he said in a statement on Sunday, Feb. 6.
Among the initial vaccination sites identified in Metro Manila are the Philippine Heart Center, National Children's Hospital, Philippine Children's Medical Center, Fil Oil Gym in San Juan City, Manila Zoo, and SM North Edsa.
The vaccination rollout for the said age groups will then be expanded to the other regions on Feb. 14, Valentine's Day.
Process
According to NTF, the children will have to be accompanied by their parent or guardian upon arriving at the designated vaccination sites. They need to present a signed consent form while kids with co-morbidities need to provide an additional requirement which is their medical certificate.
The children will also have to be pre-registered before they can get the anti-COVID vaccine.
Currently, only the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for use by the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the inoculation of five- to 11-year-olds. The formulation for the said age group is lower compared to those administered to the older groups.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that the vaccine dosage that shall be used for five- to 11-year-olds should be 10 micrograms instead of the dosage given to 12 to 17 year olds which is 30 micrograms.
Galvez said that the national government purchased 30 million doses of the reformulated Pfizer vaccine, of which 7.5 million doses will arrive in the first quarter and another 7.5 million doses in the second quarter.
The vaccine czar said some 160,000 children aged five to 11 years have so far been registered for the pilot vaccination in Metro Manila.
“They are very eager to participate in this vaccination program because we all know that we are not safe until everyone is safe, and we saw that the people are suffering also,” Galvez said.
The country kicked off its pediatric vaccination program for minors aged 12 to 17 in October 2021.
As of February 3, over 9.1 million individuals from the said age group have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 jab.