PH FDA OKs emergency use of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine for 12 to 15 yrs old

FILE PHOTO: A vial and syringe are seen in front of a displayed Pfizer logo in this illustration taken January 11, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the amended emergency use authorization (EUA) of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to include the vaccination of 12 to 15 years old using its product, the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a text message to INQUIRER.net that “Pfizer is [for] 12-15 years old with or without comorbidity but given insufficient vaccines as of yet, only those with comorbidity are included in the A3 prioritization.”

In a separate text message, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire confirmed that the country’s FDA has already approved the amended EUA of Pfizer so it can be administered to those aged 12 years old and above.

The FDA granted an EUA to Pfizer in January but only for individuals aged 16 years old and older.

Pfizer then applied for an amendment of its EUA on May 20, after the United States’ FDA approved its use for children aged 12 to 15.

However, Vergeire said that “due to limited supply, we stick with our prioritization framework first.”

“While we welcome more vaccines that are approved for children and adolescents, due to limited vaccine supply, our vaccination strategy remains the same—prioritize the vulnerable and adhere to our prioritization framework,” she said.

She added that “the general consensus of our vaccine experts is to revisit pediatric and adolescent vaccination once our vaccine supply has stabilized.”

“The Vaccine Cluster through Sec Charlie [Galvez] is doing all they can to secure the doses necessary to vaccinate all eligible populations for free,” she added.

The Philippines has so far administered 5.95 million COVID-19 vaccine doses as of June 6. There are 1.54 million individuals who have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

JPV