Dominguez estimates P25B needed to vaccinate 15M teenagers

Around P25 billion will have to be spent to cover the vaccination of teenagers aged 12 and above against COVID-19, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III told a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

Dominguez told senators looking into the country’s mass immunization campaign that the estimate was still preliminary since “the number depends on the vaccine that is recommended for children.”

“It is just an estimate at this point in time because the health authorities might have another vaccine. This is a developing situation,” he said.

In a televised briefing on Monday, Dominguez assured President Rodrigo Duterte that the government has “enough reserves” to cover the vaccination of adolescents.

“The money is there and we will certainly be able to vaccinate the entire adult population plus the teenagers who are I think around 15 million, right? So total 85 million Filipinos,” he said.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier said the vaccination of children against COVID-19 could begin in the fourth quarter of 2021 due to the expected arrival of more shots found to be effective in minors.

The Philippines recently expanded its emergency use authorization (EUA) for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to cover individuals aged 12 and above. —KBK, GMA News