The government is now eyeing to start the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years old against the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) this month.
In a televised interview on Monday, Presidential Adviser for Covid-19 Response Secretary Vivencio “Vince” B. Dizon said they are now in talks with Pfizer International for the purchase of the necessary vaccine for the said age group.
“Hopefully, we can start the procurement of supply of the Pfizer vaccine this month of January,” he added.
To note, only Pfizer was able to secure an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that allowed the use of its Covid-19 vaccine for those 5 to 11 years old.
Dizon said the government is prioritizing the vaccination of minors below 12 years old due to their high risk from infection.
“We saw how the children, especially those exposed in densely populated areas are hit by Covid-19 so we should prioritize and fast track the vaccination of children,” Dizon said.
Based from its National Covid-19 Vaccination Dashboard data last Sunday, the Department of Health (DOH) said the government was able to fully vaccinate 49.85 million of its over 100 million population.
Dizon said they are targeting to increase this figure to 70 million by the end of February or early March.
