DOH eyes COVID-19 jabs of 1.6M kids in Central Luzon

A child gets vaccinated against COVID-19 as the Department of Health rolls out Wednesday its pediatric inoculation at the Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital (JBLMGH) in Pampanga’s capital city of San Fernando. (Photo courtesy of JBLMGH)

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga—Around 1.6 million children ages 5 to 11 years old in Central Luzon are targeted to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the Department of Health (DOH) in the region said in a statement on Wednesday, Feb. 9.

Dr. Corazon Flores, DOH regional director, announced the target after the agency rolled out on Tuesday and Wednesday pediatric vaccinations at the Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) in Balanga City in Bataan and  the Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital (JBLMGH) in the Pampanga capital of San Fernando.

“We are doing this for our children; we want to protect them from this virus. And eventually, we are hoping that they can resume their face-to-face classes, and live a normal life, said Dr. Monserrat Chichioco, JBLMGH medical director.

Close to 190 children have been vaccinated with parents’ consent at the JBLMGH, which will conduct a mass vaccination drive on Feb. 10-11. It would administer the vaccines daily after that, she said.

Flores said only Pfizer-BioNTech had been granted a permit to be administered to children. It is given in two doses, with a 21-day interval.

Sec. Vivencio Dizon, the deputy chief implementer of the National Task Force against COVID-19, said at the launch at the JBLMGH that vaccines were “safe and effective, and that parents should not be afraid to let their children be vaccinated.”

“To all the parents, please do not be afraid. The vaccines that we are using are the same vaccines used in the United States, wherein 8 million children have been vaccinated, and to this date, none of them had serious effects. Only common side effects were noted, such as mild fever, headache, and pain at the injection site,” Dizon said in the program.

Pampanga has 317,095 children aged 5 to 11 years old, said Gov. Dennis Pineda. He added he would have his granddaughter vaccinated.

“Parents and caregivers should really understand the importance and benefits of COVID-19 vaccines.” Bataan Gov. Albert Garcia was quoted as saying in the DOH statement.

Aside from BGHMC and JBLMGH, pediatric vaccinations will also be held in Dr. Paulino J. Garcia Memorial Research and Medical Institute in Nueva Ecija, Bulacan Medical Center, and Tarlac Provincial Hospital.

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