By Alec Go
As the Philippines rolls out the COVID-19 vaccination for 5 to 11 years old, the World Health Organization (WHO) is encouraging parents to have their children vaccinated to prevent death and severe COVID-19 among the younger age group.
WHO Acting Country Representative Dr. Rajendra Prasad Yadav reiterated that approved vaccines are “very safe” and effective, without “causing any more side effects than other vaccines.”
“These are very safe vaccines and effective. If you don’t vaccinate our children, they are also likely to develop severe COVID and die especially if they have comorbidities,” he said in the February 11 Laging Handa briefing.
“These vaccines have been used in many countries including in younger age groups. WHO has approved them so we continue to recommend that these vaccines should be used in children, too” he added.
The WHO also asked individuals spreading misinformation on vaccines that causes “unnecessary panic” among guardians to stop, saying that they are putting “children’s lives at stake.”
According to the Department of Health (DOH), a total of 52,262 five- to 11-year-olds have received their COVID-19 vaccine doses in 56 vaccination sites, with only four children who experienced non-serious reactions.
Currently, only the reformulated Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is being used among children ages 5 to 11.
Vaccinating seniors
Yadav commended the Philippines for fully vaccinating over 60 million individuals, but noted that 2.5 million senior citizens remain unvaccinated.
During the same briefing, he called on local authorities to ensure the vaccination of priority groups, as some provinces including Cebu, Negros Occidental, Batangas, Cavite, Bulacan, have many unvaccinated elderlies.
“Vaccinating older people is one of the most impactful ways to save lives during this pandemic. We know that senior citizens are at high risk for developing severe disease, getting hospitalized and dying from COVID-19,” he said.
“With fewer restrictions and high mobility happening now, we could be putting our unvaccinated senior citizens at risk of hospitalization and death. We need to vaccinate the high priority groups before another variant causes another surge,” he added.
The Philippines is currently implementing the third round of its nationwide massive vaccination drive dubbed as “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” to inoculate five million more individuals.
The DOH said more than 660,000 doses were administered on its first day, prompting it to extend the campaign until February 18.
Watch the February 11, 2022 Laging Handa briefing here:
