By Alec Go
The Department of Health (DOH) said only four of the more than 50,000 children aged 5 to 11 years old who were administered COVID-19 vaccines experienced adverse reactions which were considered mild.
The DOH said a total of 52,262 children aged 5 to 11 years old have been inoculated with the reformulated Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine since the government began the pilot implementation on February 7.
“All of those were minor [reactions]. Mayroon pong nagpantal, mayroong sumakit ang ulo, at ito naman ay agad nating na-manage, at nakauwi naman po ang ating mga kabataan,” DOH USec. Maria Rosario Vergeire said in the Feb. 12 Laging Handa briefing.
Vergeire said in a separate briefing on Feb. 11 that among the reactions is pain on the injection site, rashes, slight blood pressure increase, fever, and vomiting.
“Ang mga naranasang reaksiyon ay agaran din pong nawala,” she said,
“Paalala sa mga magulang na huwag tayong matakot at mangamba dahil handa ang ating mga healthcare workers at ating mga vaccination sites upang tugunan ang anumang AEFI [adverse events following immunization] na maaaring maramdaman ng inyong mga anak,” she added.
The vaccination of 5 to 11-year-old children will be rolled out next week, starting in bigger areas, such as Regions 7 and 11. This will be further implemented in other areas in the following week.
Meanwhile, the DOH said around 1.3 million individuals were vaccinated in the third edition of Bayanihan, Bakunahan drive which began on Feb. 10.
This is below the five million target jabs for the event, prompting the government to extend it until Feb. 18. – bny
