PASAY CITY — The vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years old would bring a greater sense of normalcy to their lives and enable the government to achieve its goal of providing an increased level of protection to all Filipino families, according to NTF Chief Implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. on Friday, February 4.
“Alam natin na napaka emosyonal nito sa atin, sinasabi nating may kagat ito sa puso dahil nakikita natin pwede na magsama-sama ang pamilya sa paglabas. ” Galvez during the arrival of the first batch of reformulated Pfizer vaccines consisting of 780,000 doses procured by the national government for the youngest age group so far to be inoculated against COVID-19.
“Pangalawa, ang ating mga kabataan ay hindi natin ire-restrict at sila po ay pwede ng maglaro at magkaroon ng face-to-face learning kailangan natin ito para mapangalagaan ang social development ng ating next generation” Galvez added.
All systems go
With the arrival of the Pfizer jabs, Galvez said the vaccination roll out for the said age group will begin on Monday, February 7.
“Masaya po kaming ibalita na matutuloy na ang ating rollout sa pagbabakuna para sa batang edad lima hanggang onse sa Lunes. Gusto ko pong siguraduhin ang ating mga magulang na ang bakuna pong ito ay ligtas at masusing pinag-aralan ng mga pinakamahusay na siyentipiko sa buong mundo,” he said.
Currently, only the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for use by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration for 5 to 11 year-olds. The formulation for the said age group is lower compared to those administered to the older groups.
Galvez said the Philippine government purchased 30 million doses of the reformulated Pfizer vaccines, of which 7.5 million will arrive in the first quarter and another 7.5 million 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.
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.
Meanwhile, U.S. Embassy chargé d’affaires Heather Variava emphasized that the inoculation of children aged 5 to 11 years old would have a major impact in the lives of Filipino families.
“This will make such a difference in the lives of all families in the Philippines. It will allow children to eventually get back to face-toface learning, it will allow them to play with their friends and do important socializing and I’m so delighted that we have these safe and effective U.S. vaccines here for the Philippines,” Variava said.
The latest vaccine delivery brings to 217,778,400 the total number COVID-19 jabs the country has received since February of last year.
For his part, U.S. Embassy deputy chief of mission David “Chip” Gamble said that 8 million Americans in the 5 to 11 age group have received their first dose, while 6 million children have completed their second dose.
“For me as a parent, I can tell you that the vaccine is safe, my children have had two shots of it, they’re doing well, and they’re so excited to go back to in-person learning. So I urge all Filipinos, as the rest of the 15 million doses come in, to bring your children out, get vaccinated and let’s get this country back open,” Gamble said.
Petition against pediatric vaccination
Galvez expressed confidence that the rollout would not be affected by the petition filed on Thursday in Quezon City by two parents who asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order halting the vaccination of children.
“May kumpiyansa kami na makikita ng ating mga judges yung magiging merit ng TRO at we are very confident that many people, many parents, and also overwhelmingly ang ating mga mamamayan, susuportahan po tayo dahil nakikita po natin na malaki ang pakinabang ng bakuna dito sa pandemya,” Galvez said.
“We cannot go out to the new normal without the vaccine so nakikita namin na it (vaccine rollout) will proceed,” he added.
In a separate television interview on Friday, Galvez said the national government and local government units are ready for the rollout of the children’s vaccination on Monday, following the arrival of the reformulated vaccine doses.
“Tuloy na tuloy na [ang pagbabakuna sa 5 to 11 year olds] sa anim na lugar dito sa Metro Manila at dalawang lugar sa Region 4A. We are very thankful na overwhelming ang support ng mga parents at saka ng Philippine Pediatric Society,” Galvez said.
The vaccination rollout, he said, for the said age groups will be expanded to the other regions in the coming weeks.
“We are very confident na very minimal ang effect ng filing ng TRO, dahil nakita nating mas maraming parents ang gustong mabakunahan ang kanilang anak. In fact, dito sa Metro Manila, 167,000 na ang nagparehistro at nasa 42,000 naman sa Iloilo City,” Galvez said.
“Though alam naming may proseso tayo, we have a very strong support from different medical associations like the Philippine Medical Association. In fact, ‘yung UNICEF, WHO, US Embassy Officials, Cabinet Secretaries at ang Philippine Pediatric Society will be joining us during the inoculation,” he added.
Galvez stressed that vaccinating the said age group is necessary to ensure their protection against COVID-19 and enable the nation’s full recovery from the health crisis.
“Ang panawagan po natin sa ating mga magulang, kailangang mabuo ang ating programa na buong pamilya ang ating mabakunahan. Kasi kung buong pamilya ang mababakunahan, we will keep the family safe at ‘yung mga bata ay makakawala na sa restrictions, at magkakaroon na tayo ng face-to-face classes,” Galvez said.
The Philippines kicked off its pediatric vaccination program for minors aged 12 to 17 in October last year. 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. ###
