Gatchalian urges DOH, FDA to okay vaccination of kids aged 5 to 11

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday urged the Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve the vaccination of children aging five to 11 years old in order to expand the limited face-to-face classes in the country.

According to Gatchalian, around 10 countries have already approved the vaccination of five-year-old children and above.

“It’s been practiced in different parts of the world already and that’s key to going back to face-to-face classes because that is also the 30 percent of the parents not consenting bringing their kids back to school as shown by the UNICEF earlier,” Gatchalian said at a Senate hearing.

“That is why we are also urging the DOH and the FDA, of course, to look at this possibility of vaccinating our five years old and above because that is key to bringing up the confidence of our parents….Please relay to the good secretary our desire to vaccinate five years old and above,” he added, talking to DOH Director for Disease Prevention and Control Bureau Dr. Razel Nikka Hao.

Gatchalian pointed out that this will go along the Department of Education’s (DepEd) plan to expand the implementation of limited in-person classes as disclosed by Assistant Secretary Malcolm Garma.

“Maganda sana ang timing e (The timing would be good because), good news is Asec. Garma mentioned that we’re planning to open limited face to face classes this coming January. So a good combination is the approval of that five years old and above vaccine so that in tandem, we can go back to limited face-to-face classes with a lot of confidence,” he said.

The Philippine government has earlier allowed the vaccination of 12-year-old children and above.

According to Hao, the FDA is already assessing the possible amendments to the vaccines’ Emergency Use Authorization to allow the inoculation of children aged five to 11.

“We are still awaiting for the final decision on the matter and I think even [FDA] Director-General [Eric] Domingo has alluded to the possibility of that happening quite soon,” Hao said.

“But in the DOH, we are preparing already the guidelines and we are waiting for that EUA to be approved,” she added.

So far, Hao said there are around 7.1 million 12 to 17 year-old children who have been vaccinated with at least one dose, of which, around 2.7 million are fully vaccinated. —NB, GMA News