Pasay City Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano observes the vaccination of a minor in Pasay City General Hospital on Friday, the first day of the second phase of vaccination of children with comorbidities. Photo courtesy of Pasay City Government.
MANILA, Philippines — Over 8,600 minors from ages 12 to 17 with comorbidities have so far been vaccinated against COVID-19, the Department of Health (DOH) said Saturday.
“Itong sa mga kabataan na ating naisagawa, meron na po tayong total na 8,639 children who were already vaccinated. Ito po ‘yung mga kabataan na may comorbidities (We have already vaccinated 8,639 children with comorbidities),” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said at the Laging Handa public briefing.
The first phase of the pediatric vaccinations started in eight hospitals on October 15 while the second phase was conducted in over 20 hospitals starting October 22.
According to Vergeire, four minor vaccinees have suffered adverse reactions to vaccines.
“Kahapon po, may naireport po tayo na apat na mga kabataan na nagkaroon ng reaksyon. ‘Yung isa po ay anxiety-related at pagkatapos po ng ilang minuto we were able to manage,” she said.
(Yesterday, we recorded four adverse reactions. One was anxiety-related but we were able to manage it after a few minutes.)
“’Yung tatlo naman po were allergies doon sa bakuna. Sila ay inobserbahan at minanage. Sa ngayon, isasubject pa natin yan sa further assessment. Magbibigay po tayo ng information in the coming days,” she added.
(The other three were allergies to vaccines. They were observed and managed. We will subject these incidents to further assessment. We will provide additional information in the coming days.)
The DOH earlier said that minors aged 12 to 17 with the following comorbidities are eligible for vaccination: medical complexity or those with long term dependence on technical support; genetic conditions; neurologic conditions; metabolic or endocrine diseases; cardiovascular diseases; obesity; HIV infection; tuberculosis; chronic respiratory diseases; renal disorders; hepatobiliary diseases; and those who are immunocompromised due to disease or treatment.
So far, only the COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna are approved for use on minors in the Philippines.