Over 600K kids aged 5-11 vaccinated vs. COVID-19, DOH exec says

The Philippines has so far vaccinated over 600,000 children aged five to 11 years old against COVID-19 almost a month since the government started the pediatric vaccination, a top official of the Department of Health (DOH) said Saturday.

In an interview on Dobol B TV, Health Undersecretary and National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) chairperson Dr. Myrna Cabotaje said there has been a great interest in the pediatric vaccination drive.

“As of February 24, 663,384 na mga batang five- to 11 year-olds ang nabakunahan kontra COVID-19,” Cabotaje said.

(As of February 24, there are 663,384 five- to 11 year-olds who were vaccinated against COVID-19.)

The government began the pilot implementation of pediatric vaccination on February 7 and expanded the program nationwide on February 14.

Cabotaje, however, said there is a supply shortage of the reformulated low-dose Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children worldwide.

Around seven million children are under the 5-11 age group. Of this number, the government is targeting to vaccinate 1.7 million. —KG, GMA News