The Department of Health (DOH) said the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine cannot yet be administered to teenagers despite its eyed use authorization for 12- to 15- year-old individuals.
The DOH said the prioritization framework must be followed, wherein senior citizens, persons with comorbidities, and the vulnerable population are among top priorities.
“‘Yan ay mga bata, ‘di pa natin pwede turukan sa ngayon dahil nga kulang tayo [ng supply],” DOH Sec. Francisco Duque III said in the Laging Handa briefing on May 27.
“Ngayon ‘yung sinasabi nila, saka na ‘pag dumating ang sapat na bakuna at pwede na nating i-consider ‘yung kanila pong mga minumungkahi,” he added.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said during President Rodrigo Duterte’s public address on May 26 that the pharmaceutical company applied for an amendment to include the said age group under its population coverage.
“So within the week, we will be issuing an amendment to the emergency use authorization of Pfizer, and we will be able to use it for children, 12 to 15 years old,” FDA Director-General Eric Domingo said.
The vaccine has been approved for the said age group in the United States. It is also the first vaccine to be granted an emergency use authorization in the Philippines for individuals 16 years old and above.
The OCTA Research Group said the inoculation of younger age groups will be a factor in achieving population protection in the country.
“If we exclude children and minors from the equation we are already at 70%, so that means we have to vaccinate basically the entire adult population. We haven’t seen how much hesitancy is still in place. But there will still be a factor in hesitancy,” Dr. Guido David said on May 26.
Meanwhile, Senator Koko Pimental in a statement on May 27 called for the immediate “vaccination of the willing.”
“Better to just open up the system and vaccinate all those who want to be vaccinated now. We already have sufficient supply. Don’t let the vaccines expire!” he said. – Report from Mark Fetalco/AG-jlo
Watch full report from Mark Fetalco:
