TEN months since government started COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 5 to 11 years, less than half of the nearly 11 million target population has been fully jabbed.
Data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed that as of November 30, only about 5.3 million children 5 to 11 years old have been fully vaccinated.
This is 48.9 percent of the 10,895,015 target population for the age group.
The vaccination program for the 5-11-year-olds started on February 7.
Only children belonging to the age group are eligible for two primary series COVID-19 vaccines but booster shots for them have yet to be approved.
For the age group 12 to 17 years, only some 1.1 million have received booster shots, or about 12 percent of the total eligible population of fully vaccinated adolescents.
DOH data showed 10,010,095 adolescents have been fully vaccinated. This is 112 percent of the original target population of 8.9 million adolescents.
The rollout for adolescent vaccination began in October 2021, while booster shots were allowed in July 2022.
The DOH started yesterday its three-day mass vaccination program which involves house visits to vaccinate the 5 to 11 group, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities, aside from vaccination operations at established jab centers.
The program aims to reach more unvaccinated individuals.
As of November 29, some 71.5 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated, with 21 million having received booster shots.
