MANILA, Philippines — The national government is aiming to start vaccinating children aged zero to four years against COVID-19 this year, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., the country’s vaccine manager, said in a taped briefing with President Rodrigo Duterte that aired late Monday night.
Galvez said the government aims to vaccinate about 11.11 million 0 to 4-year-olds against the severe respiratory disease starting in the second quarter of the year.
Meanwhile, children 5 to 11 years old may start to receive their vaccines by the end of January.
“We are now making some contingencies to acquire doses that we need to include ages 0 to 4,” he said.
The government also aims to vaccinate a total of 90 million individuals against COVID-19 by June 2022 and provide over 72 million booster shots for adults.
It also aims to inoculate 12 million teenagers 12 to 17 years old with boosters, Galvez added.