Muntinlupa prepares to vaccinate 12 to 17-year-olds
MANILA, Philippines — Muntinlupa City announced Tuesday the start of its pre-registration program for COVID-19 vaccination among adolescents or those aged 12 to 17.
The program was launched after the Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization for the US-made vaccine Moderna for the 12 to 17-year-old age group.
READ: FDA OKs emergency use of Moderna vaccine on adolescents aged 12 to 17
According to Muntinlupa’s local government, residents under this age group may already pre-register as early as now through the city’s COVID-19 vaccination registration system.
In preparation for the final guidelines from the Department of Health, the pre-registration aims to create a database of the adolescents eligible for COVID-19 vaccines.
On the other hand, the national government has yet to include children and adolescents in its vaccination drive.
However, vaccine manager Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier said that the government targets to open the vaccination to the general public — including vulnerable children with comorbidities — by October this year.
READ: Gov’t eyeing COVID-19 vaccination for general population by October
Recently, the city has announced that it has already administered a total of 507,964 vaccines. Of this number, 192,360 or 49.9 percent of the target population have already received the required total number of doses, while 319,963 individuals or 83 percent have received at least one dose.
As of September 14, Muntinlupa currently has 23,672 confirmed cases of COVID-19. This includes 2,413 active cases, 20,765 recoveries and 494 deaths.
Moderna is the second vaccine to have been granted use on adolescents. The FDA earlier allowed the use of another US-made vaccine, Pfizer, for 12 to 15-year-olds.
READ: Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine approved for use on those aged 12-15 – DOH
Meanwhile, the vaccine developed by China, Sinovac, which is also the current dominant vaccine procured by the Philippine government, sought approval for its use on children aged 3 to 17 years.
READ: Trials show 3 vaccine brands safe also for minors — experts
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