ILOILO City – The Department of Health (DOH) in Region 6 is encouraging local government units (LGUs) to start listing children aged 12 to 17 years old for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination.
The vaccination will start with kids with comorbidities, according to Dr. Bea Camille Natalaray, spokesperson of DOH-6.
Natalaray said there is no exact date yet when the vaccination will start.
Children with comorbidities will belong to Priority Group A3.
Expansion beyond this group will follow once adequate coverage of the A2 priority group (senior citizens) has been achieved nationwide and vaccine supply becomes sufficient to include children.
According to Natalaray, the regional office is still waiting for the official operational guidelines on pediatric vaccination.
DOH, in a news release, emphasized the need for a careful and planned rollout of vaccines for children.
Considering that the risks of contracting severe COVID or dying from the disease is significantly lower for healthy children, DOH said it follows that the benefits from vaccination relative to the risk of a healthy child is also lower, compared to a sick child, adult or senior citizen.
In finalizing the guidelines, DOH ensures:
* informed consent by the parent /guardian and child prior to vaccination will be obtained;
* supply availability of Pfizer and Moderna, the only vaccines with emergency use authorization for 12 to 17 years old issued by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration; and
* equitable access to medical clearance by a physician for children with comorbidities.
DOH recommended that children with comorbidities be vaccinated in select sites with clearance from their pediatricians or trained doctors, or for far-flung or geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, with clearance from on-site trained physicians guided by a checklist from the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines.
“We have to ensure that children have equitable access to vaccines,” said DOH spokesperson and undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
“Eventually, as we get more local experience, we will be able to retool our current vaccinators on the additional precautionary steps on screening and vaccine administration,” she added.
DOH further called on all those eligible adults to get vaccinated.
“Even if we have approved the recommendation to vaccinate children with comorbidities, we still have to increase our vaccination coverage among other priority groups, especially our senior citizens,” Vergeire said.
“Vaccines continue to offer the protection they promised against severe COVID-19 and deaths, but we have to remember to still adhere to the minimum public health standards as we may still get infected or infect others,” she added./PN