Pediatric COVID-19 vaccination for ages 5 to 11 deferred — DOH
A minor resident of La Union gets inoculated against COVID-19 during the recent pediatric vaccination drive. The province has achieved herd immunity against viral disease. (Photo courtesy La Union provincial government)
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) has postponed the pediatric COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 5 to 11 years, originally scheduled on February 4.
“The rollout for vaccinating children aged 5-11 years old will be postponed for a few days due to logistical challenges,” the DOH said in an advisory Thursday.
The vaccination drive for this age group was initially scheduled on February 4 in six different sites in Metro Manila but was moved to Feb. 7, Monday.
DOH explained that the postponement was to ensure “adequate preparation and distribution” of the Pfizer vaccines which is set to arrive on Feb. 4, Friday, the same day the inoculation drive was supposed to start.
As of writing, only Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine has been given emergency use authorization for kids aged five to 11.
