MALACANANG (24 January 2022) — The national government is all set to roll out the vaccination program for children aged five to 11 starting next week, February 4.

During President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s Talk to the People public address on Monday, National Task Force Against COVID-19 Chief Implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. said vaccinators are already being trained in preparation for the inoculation of the said age group.

The vaccine supply for children aged five to 11 is expected to arrive within the last week of January.

“Iyong ating memorandum guidance ay lalabas po ngayong week at ‘yung ating town hall meetings na pamumunuan po ng DOH and series of trainings ay tuloy-tuloy ngayong week, from January 24 to 28,” Galvez said.

“Kasama po dito ang capacity building ng vaccination teams, ‘yung town halls to the public, vaccination site preparation, at saka po ‘yung vaccine site final inspection na gaganapin po hanggang January 25 hanggang January 31,” he added.

Galvez also assured the public that the reformulated vaccines that will be used for children aged five to 11 have been proven to be safe and effective.

“Makaka-assure po tayo, Mr. President, sa ating mga magulang na very safe ang ating gagamitin na bakuna dahil ito ay mas mababa ang formulation na angkop para sa mga bata,” he said.

Similar to the vaccination rollout for the 12 to 17 years old age group, the government will implement a similar gradual rollout for children aged five to 11.

Galvez said Phase 1 of the rollout’s implementation will be conducted in two vaccination sites per city in Metro Manila.

For Phase 2, the vaccination sites in Metro Manila will be expanded, together with the pilot rollout in select sites in other regions.

Wall of immunity

According to Galvez, vaccinating Filipino children aged 0 to 17, whose population is estimated at about 39 million, is part of the national vaccination strategy which aims to achieve the concept of ‘wall of immunity.’

He explained the concept refers to the wall of protection created by vaccinating a significant portion of the country’s population, thus preventing more infections, hospitalizations and virus mutations.

Galvez said the country’s wall of immunity is anchored on the government’s vaccination strategy which includes vaccinating at least 90 million Filipinos by the end of second quarter, administering booster shots to the eligible adult population, and vaccinating the children.

“In order to get an assurance that everybody is well-protected all the time, Mr. President, kailangan po talaga na patuloy po ang ating pagbabakuna ng karagdagang booster shots,” Galvez said.

“Ito po ay para sigurado po na tuloy-tuloy ang proteksiyon at handa po tayo na kahit anong variant ang makapasok sa bansa ay mayroon po tayong tinatawag na series of wall of protection, of wall of immunity,” he added.

As of January 25, a total of 6,492,213 booster shots and additional doses have already been administered nationwide.

Various measures have been implemented by the national government in partnership with local government units and the private sector to ramp up booster vaccination, including the Resbakuna sa Botika at Klinika program which kicked off last week.

Following three days of the program’s pilot implementation in seven partner pharmacies and private clinics, a total of 2,242 booster shots have been administered.

“On the vaccine rollout of our pharmacies and clinics, we would like to thank the team of Secretary Vince Dizon, Usec. Myrna Cabotaje at saka ‘yung ating National Vaccination Operations Center and our T3 private sector partners, for the successful opening of Resbakuna sa Botika at Resbakuna sa Klinika,” Galvez said.

“This will be our way forward towards the end of this pandemic – to make the vaccines accessible and available to the public nationwide,” he said.

For his part, Presidential Adviser for COVID-19 Response Secretary Vince Dizon said the Resbakuna sa Botika at Klinika will be expanded outside Metro Manila following its successful pilot rollout.

“Sa Wednesday po kami po nila Sec. Duque at Sec. Charlie ay pupunta po sa Baguio. Tutulungan po natin ang City of Baguio dahil tumataas po ang kanilang kaso doon,” Dizon said.

“At one way of helping them, dahil po marami ngang nagkakasakit na vaccinator ay magbubukas po tayo ng dalawang initial na botika sa Baguio City, and then we will also open drugstores in other parts of Luzon and also the Visayas and Mindanao,” he added.

As of January 24, the Philippines has already administered a total of 123,866,249 vaccine doses. Of this number, 57,514,283 are already fully vaccinated. ###