Enough adults should be vaccinated before inoculating minors –pediatricians

The Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) and the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines (PIDSP) over the weekend urged the government to vaccinate a “sufficient percentage” of the adult population, before moving to minors.

According to the PPS and PIDSP, deciding to include minors in the vaccination rollout should be done in a broader context, and should take into consideration the vaccine supply and groups with comorbidities.

“[T]he adult and more vulnerable age groups should still be prioritized in the vaccination rollout, with the aim of equitable distribution among different regions of the country,” the groups said in a statement.

“Once the whole country has a sufficient percentage vaccinated in the priority adult groups, children 12 years old and above may be considered for vaccination,” it added.

The groups noted that the vaccine rollout can be started in high-transmission areas with adolescents under the A3 or those with comorbidities and A1 category or children of frontliners prioritized.

Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine to include adolescents aged 12 to 17.

The Department of Health (DOH) has yet to issue a recommendation to have children vaccinated against COVID-19, but local government units such as Quezon City have already requested the national government to include minors.

The Philippines on Sunday reported 21,411 fresh COVID-19 cases, bringing active cases up to 181,951. The total caseload is now at 2,227,367 which includes 2,010,271 recoveries and 35,145 deaths.

As of September 9, a total of 16.138 million have received the total number of doses needed to be fully vaccinated, while 21.589 million have received only their first jab. — DVM, GMA News