Gov't eyes vaccination of children aged 5-11 in February
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health is eyeing to start vaccination of children five to 11 years old at the earliest in the first week of February.
Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said in Friday’s Laging Handa briefing that the vaccines for the set age group has yet to arrive.
Cabotaje explained that the government will use a different formulation of Pfizer — the only brand with Emergency Use Authorization for this age group — for the inoculation of five to 11-year-old children, than those who are 12 and above.
"We are looking at the first week of February to start the vaccination of five to 11 years old. The vaccines will soon arrive," she added in Filipino.
The Philippines is seeing an alarming increase of new COVID-19 cases, feared to be driven by the more infectious Omicron variant, prompting escalation of protocols in Metro Manila and several provinces until January 15 and even lockdowns of government offices.
Cabotaje admitted that vaccination has slowed down, as several regions were affected by Typhoon Odette and healthcare workers were also infected by COVID-19.
But the health official is hopeful that the vaccination drive will again ramp up in two to three weeks.
As of January 6, the government has administered 111,908,930 doses, fully vaccinating 51.655 million Filipinos. There are also 57.446 million others waiting for their second jab, and 2.806 million have already received their booster jab.
COVID-19 cases in the country crossed 2.91 million cases as of Friday, with 21,819 new infections. Active cases also shot up to 77,369, while fatalities rose to 51,871 and recoveries were logged at 2,781,424. — Kristine Joy Patag
- Latest
- Trending
