The Department of Health (DOH) said on Thursday, Feb. 17 that the country has vaccinated 263,932 kids aged five to 11 with their first dose of Pfizer vaccines since the start of the nationwide rollout.
DOH Undersecretary and National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) Chairperson Myrna Cabotaje said during a Laging Handa press briefing that the country is averaging 55,000 doses per day on the pediatric vaccination of this particular age group.
But she reminded the public, especially the Local Government Units (LGUs) that the supply of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines for kids aged five to 11 is still limited.
The government's instruction is to save COVID-19 vaccines for the kids' second dose which will be due in 21 days. For the month of February, Cabotaje said that they are expecting a shipment of 5 million COVID-19 vaccines wherein half or more than half according to her, may be used for the first dose.
For the second quarter, she added that they are expecting around 10 million doses.
As for the adverse events, Cabotaje stated that they have post-vaccination monitoring area wherein all those who were vaccinated are observed should they experience any adverse event following immunization (AEFI). So far, there have been no recorded serious incidents yet.
"Wala pong serious na adverse side-effect pero may walong kaso tayo ng non-serious adverse event sa ating mga nabakunahan (There were recorded serious adverse side-effects but there were eight cases of non-serious event from those who were vaccinated)," she said.
So karamihan nito mga rashes, apat makati yung lalamunan, masakit sa pinagbakunahan, may nilagnat at saka may nagsuka (Most of them experience rashes, four have itchy throat, pain in the vaccinated area and there are some who had fever and vomiting)," she added.
Cabotaje assured that there are designated medical teams who will respond and a health facility ready for referral in case a child experiences any adverse event.
In case the child would feel the side effect later, Cabotaje said that they will be given contact numbers to call healthcare workers or health facilities to report what the child is feeling so that it would be addressed.
Meanwhile, almost all provinces according to Cabotaje have selected sites that have started their rollout COVID-19 vaccines for kids aged five to 11 but the phasing remains to be supply-dependent. However, she said that the government distributed the limited COVID-19 vaccine supply to different parts of the country so that it is not concentrated only in a single area.
On the other hand, no company has applied yet for an emergency use authorization (EUA) with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for COVID-19 vaccines for kids aged 0 to 4, Cabotaje said.