NINE months since the start of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout for children aged 5 to 11 years, less than half of the nearly 11 million target population has been fully vaccinated.
Data from the Department of Health (DOH) shows that only 5,231,460 from the 5 to 11 age group have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of November 2. This is about 48.02 percent of the 10,895,015 target.
The DOH began vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 years on February 7.
Children aged 5 to 11 can receive only the primary series COVID-19 vaccines.
Booster shots for that age group have yet to be approved.
“Until now, booster shots are still not recommended by the Philippine government to our children 5 to 11 years old,” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire in a briefing last Friday.
She said government regulatory agencies have yet to give clearance for the booster shots for the 5-11-year-olds.
“Even our experts, they have yet to give any such recommendations,” she said.
As for adults, some 45 million have yet to get booster shots as of last month, or about a quarter of the target population.
Data from the DOH’s National COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard showed 73.5 million fully-vaccinated individuals as of late October while the number of individuals who have received booster shots was just about 20.5 million. Booster shots require at least three months interval from the second dose.
