Low turnout prompts extension of vax drive

BORACAY KIDS GET JABS Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat and National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. (2nd and 3rd from left) oversee the vaccination of children age 5 to 11 on the resort island of Boracay in Aklan province on Friday. Boracay currently has no active COVID-19 cases, with 100 percent of its local population and tourism workers vaccinated, officials said.—RICHARD A. REYES

The government’s latest national vaccination drive against COVID-19 has been extended for one more week, or up to Feb. 18, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Friday.

Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said only about 600,000 were inoculated as of Thursday—still far from the goal of 5 million.

A parallel effort that began on Monday is the vaccination rollout targeting 15.5 million children age 5 to 11. About 52,000 in this age group have so far been inoculated.

The national inoculation drive on Thursday and Friday was the government’s third such campaign, with the first two held late last year (Nov. 29 to Dec. 1 and Dec. 15 to Dec. 17).

Old Duterte video

At the Laging Handa briefing, Cabotaje cited the low turnout in areas like the Bangsamoro and Soccsksargen regions.

She said solar refrigerators have been provided to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao for the proper storage of vaccines, and more vaccinators had also been sent to the region.

In Soccsksargen, one of the issues stalling the campaign is the circulation of an old video of President Duterte saying there was no need for booster shots.

Cabotaje said the people there were reminded that this was an old video, and that the President is now encouraging the public to get boosters.

She also noted that “We need to vaccinate our senior citizens because they are most at risk, they are vulnerable. If they get sick, it will be worse for them. They could be hospitalized and the risk of dying is greater.”

The World Health Organization’s acting Philippine representative, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Yadav, noted that 2.5 million seniors have yet to receive a single dose.

He cited the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Bulacan, Cebu and Negros Occidental as still reporting low vaccination rates among the elderly.

“I appeal to these places, the authorities of these places, especially the governors and mayors, to vaccinate the elderly and then we can already be moving into the direction of living with COVID in an endemic form,” Yadav said.

Data from the DOH show that deaths from COVID-19 are highest among seniors due to their comorbidities.

But in her press briefing on Friday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said children below 5 years old had the highest “case fatality rates” from March 2021 to January 2022, except for December 2021.

Still, she stressed that the DOH is not forcing parents to have their children vaccinated.

“This is purely voluntary. We are asking for the consent and assent of kids,” she said.

Vergeire also said the DOH is reviewing its COVID-19 policies with regard to the vaccination of adolescents.

“Science is evolving and there are many things happening each day, so it is possible we may change the policy. We have revised or amended our policy for the 5 to 11 years old and we are now reviewing our policy for the 12 to 17 years old,” she said.

Just 5 cases of side effects

According to Cabotaje, the estimated 52,000 vaccinees from the 5 to 11 age group were inoculated in 45 sites in Metro Manila, five in Central Luzon, three in Calabarzon, and at Cotabato Regional Medical Center in Cotabato City.

She said the DOH registered five “nonserious adverse events” among those children—three developing rashes, one experiencing pain in the injection site, and another retching after being administered the vaccine.

She nevertheless urged the public to avail themselves of the government’s vaccination drive.

As of Feb. 7, 60.15 million have been fully inoculated nationwide, and 8.24 million have received their booster shots.

The government aims to fully vaccinate 77 million by the end of March. —WITH A REPORT FROM TINA G. SANTOS

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