COVID-19 vaxxing of kids aged 5 to 11 starts on Feb. 4

(FILE) A minor is getting her shot against COVID-19 during the pediatric vaccination organized by the Department of Health and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority at a mall inside the Subic Bay Freeport. (Photo courtesy of SBMA).

MANILA, Philippines — COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged 5 to 11 years old will finally start on February 4, as vaccine czar and Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. reassured parents that vaccination is safe.

Galvez during the late night broadcast of President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said the memorandum guidelines would be released within the week, while trainings done by the Department of Health (DOH) for vaccinations will continue.

“‘Yong ating memorandum guidelines ay lalabas po ngayong week, at ‘yong ating townhall meetings na pamumunuan po ng DOH at series ng trainings ay tuloy-tuloy ngayong week, from January 24 to 28.  Darating po next week ang mga supply, at pwede na po tayong mag-rollout by February 4, next Friday,” Galvez said.

“Mr. President, prepared na po tayo sa vaccination ng 5 to 11 years old, last January ay nagkaroon po tayo ng live orientation ng pagbabakuna ang US Embassy ng mga bata sa ganitong edad,” he added.

Galvez, who oversees the COVID-19 vaccination program, said children in the 5 to 11 category will be given doses lower than the ones given to those in the 12-17 category. He said each vaccine dose will only be10 micrograms per dose of 0.2 milliliters.

In contrast, those in the 12 to 17 category were given 30 micrograms per 0.3 milliliters of vaccine.

“And then later nagkaroon po ng mga follow-ups, similar orientations to other regions.  Makaka-assure po tayo Mr. President, sa ating mga magulang na very safe ang ating gagamitin na bakuna dahil ito po ay mas mababa ang formulation na angkop para sa mga bata,” Galvez said.

Also, Galvez assured that the government is more prepared to handle vaccinations now, as they are more experienced, and more equipped to handle two vaccine sites per city in the National Capital Region.

“Ngayon mas prepared po tayo, at mas experienced.  Kaya ang plano po ng National Vaccination Operation Center under Sec Vince (Dizon) and Usec Myrna (Cabotaje) ay magkaroon ng dalawang sites kada city dito sa NCR, immediately,” he said.

“So we will open both hospital and non-hospital vaccination sites and we will expand the sites further to other regions after one week,” he added.

As of Monday, 57,268,257 individuals in the country have been fully vaccinated, according to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.

Those fully vaccinated comprise 73.33 percent of the country’s target population to obtain herd immunity.  Also, 59,799,215 have also received a first dose of the vaccine, while 6,298,336 have received booster shots.

In terms of infections, the DOH said Monday that the country has 262,997 active COVID-19 cases — a slightly lower number as only 24,938 new cases were recorded compared to the 35,461 patients who recovered.