By Pearl Gumapos
National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) Medical Assistant Dr. Kezia Lorraine Rosario on Saturday (Feb. 5) said the nationwide rollout for the pediatric vaccination of children aged five to 11 years old will begin on Feb. 14.
“Hinahanda rin natin ang national rollout. Ito naman po ay mangyayari on Feb. 14,” Rosario said during the Laging Handa public briefing.
Rosario also said that for the nationwide rollout, five hospital sites for vaccination will be opened in Region 3, Region 4A, and in Cotabato City. She said the basis for the selection of the sites relied on their ability to prepare their area for vaccination.
Meanwhile, 38 vaccination sites will be opened next week in the National Capital Region (NCR) as the government begins the pilot implementation of the vaccination for the younger age group.
The physician, also the co-lead of the NVOC, said the formulation of the vaccines is “very safe” and “suited” for the recipients’ age group.
“Dito sa mga bata smaller, 0.2 ml lang ‘yung ibinibigay natin. Ibang volume din ang hinahalo natin (diluent) sa vaccine para ma-mix natin ‘yung bakuna,” she said.
The Philippines welcomed the first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses for children aged five to 11 on Friday (Feb. 4) night after a slight delay which prompted the government to move the pilot rollout of expanded pediatric inoculation from Feb. 4 to Feb. 7.
Meanwhile, the government is set to implement another round of “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” or the country’s massive COVID-19 vaccination drive on Feb. 10 to 11 to cover around five million individuals. -ag
