DOH: About 170K ages 5 to 11 registered for vaccination in LGUs

A total of 168,355 children ages five to 11 have already registered for vaccination in their local government units, the Department of Health said Saturday.

"Hindi ibig sabihin na naka-concentrate o sila lang ang bibigyan. Ine-expand natin ito habang dumadami ang bakuna na dadating sa ating bansa," health undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said at the Laging Handa briefing.

(This does not mean the vaccines will be concentrated or exclusive for them. We will expand this as vaccines arriving in the country increase.)

Cabotaje said children with and without comorbidities will be vaccinated simultaneously.

"Hindi kagaya ng 12 to 17 na nauna ang may comorbidity, gusto natin mas mabilis ang bakunahan, kaya pagsasabayin natin ang pagbakuna ng may comorbidity at walang comorbidity."

(Unlike the vaccination of the 12 to 17 age group, those with comorbidities were prioritized. We want the vaccination to be faster, so we will vaccinate simultaneously those with comorbidities and those without.)

This is in contrast with the statement of National Task Force against COVID-19 adviser Dr. Ted Herbosa that those aged 5 to 11 with comorbidities will be prioritized in the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program.

For children with comorbidities, their guardians will be required to present their medical certificates, as well as their proof of relationship, in vaccination centers.

Children ages seven and above meanwhile will be asked to sign a consent form regarding their vaccination.

If a child does not have an ID, barangay captains could stand as witness that they were accompanied by their parents or guardians.

Around 780,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine for children will arrive on January 31, and will be followed by more deliveries in the following days.

Some hospitals were chosen as vaccination sites, including the National Children’s Hospital, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, and the Philippine Heart Center. —LBG, GMA News