By NG Seruela
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old.
In today’s (Sep. 3) Laging Handa public briefing, FDA Director-General Eric Domingo announced the approval of the use of the vaccine on adolescents under emergency use authorization (EUA).
“Dito po sa atin, two weeks ago nag-apply sila ng EUA amendment para po masama iyong mga adolescent o iyong mga bata na 12-17 years old,” he said.
“And after a thorough evaluation by our vaccine experts and our regulatory experts po sa FDA, in-approve na po namin ngayong araw na ito ang paggamit under emergency use authorization ng Moderna vaccine for adolescents ages 12 to17,” he added.
Domingo advised the public to take the usual precautions following immunization due to possible adverse effects. He also said to “watch out for” the very rare cases of myocarditis as an adverse effect of Moderna. However, he emphasized that myocarditis or heart inflammation is diagnosed in “a few for every million” vaccinated individuals. It is also mostly found in younger males.
“Ang mga usual na lamang po na mga precautions kapag tayo po ay nagbabakuna, kailangan po nandoon and ito pong sa for Moderna, very similar to the other mRNA vaccine like Pfizer,” he said.
Domingo asserted that the “benefit of using the vaccine outweighs the risk” since the Delta variant has been affecting a large number of children.
“So, ito po ang kailangan lamang bantayan. But definitely with the Delta variant affecting a lot of children, nakita po ng ating mga experts that the benefit of using the vaccine outweighs the risk,” he said. – jlo
