Gov’t eyes 12M jabbed minors by December

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GOVERNMENT is targeting to complete the vaccination of some 12 million minors aged 12 to 17 years by December, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said Monday night.

Galvez, also chief of the National Task Force against COVID-19, said the government is expediting the vaccination of minors against COVID-19 while preparing for the administration of a third dose to certain sectors.

He said the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group and the vaccine expert group has agreed to give a third dose to health workers and immunocompromised individuals, making it urgent to complete the vaccination of the priority sectors and administer the first dose to the rest of the population.

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The government started vaccinating 12 to 17-year-olds in Metro Manila (National Capital Region) on October 15 and is set to expand it to the rest of the country. As of October 25, almost 13,000 minors have received the first dose.

Earlier, the Department of Health approved the recommendations of the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) for the provision of booster shots and third doses to selected sectors.

In its interim recommendations dated October 13, HTAC said booster shots may be given to healthcare workers and senior citizens by the fourth quarter of 2021, and among eligible priority groups by 2022. HTAC said an additional dose may be given in 2021 and 2022 for immunocompromised individuals.

The DOH, however, said the government will still have to wait for the recommendation of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) and of the emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before starting the rollout.

Galvez said vaccination of minors is important because being fully vaccinated would eventually allow them more freedom to go out and resume their normal activities, and help improve their mental health, among others. It would also help convince unvaccinated elders to get jabbed, and hasten the reopening of face-to-face classes and “ancillary businesses” related to the education sector.

He said the national government is waiting for the amendment of the emergency use authorization for vaccines that will be used for the third dose.

Galvez said the government is eyeing the administration of the third shot by November. He said they are also prioritizing the elders and those with comorbidities who were vaccinated in March to May.

He said the Department of Health has approved “booster shots” for health workers but “we need to amend the emergency use authorization to allow the use of the vaccines for the third dose.”

The Health Technology Assessment Council recommended the booster for healthcare workers and immunocompromised individuals.

100M VACCINE DOSES

Galvez said the Philippines is expected to receive the 100 millionth dose of vaccine this week.

He said that as of October 25, the country’s cumulative vaccine arrivals since February has reached 97.678 million, of which more than 77.99 million doses have been deployed to local government units, while 56.25 million doses have been administered nationwide.

He said at least 2.3 million doses, most of them donations from other countries and the COVAX Facility, are expected to arrive this week. At least 976,950 doses of Pfizer vaccines bought by the government are set to arrive Wednesday night.

Galvez said that with the 100 millionth vaccine dose, the country will be able to fully vaccinate at least 50 million individuals before year ends.

As of October 25, about 25.6 million individuals have been fully vaccinated individuals, or around 33.65 percent of the country’s target population.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said there will be enough vaccines for the third and booster shots.

“Starting this November, we are expecting almost 20 to 25 million doses arriving in the country,” she said.

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The National Capital Region Police Office said 22,384 of its personnel, or about 97 percent, are fully vaccinated while 475 or at least 2 percent have received the first dose.

The rest are unvaccinated because of medical conditions, among other reasons, said NCRPO chief Maj. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. — With Gerard Naval and Noel Talacay

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