It is possible that the COVID-19 vaccination of all minors 12 to 17 nationwide will begin on November 3, 2021, according to vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr.
“We will open up ‘yung (vaccination ng) 12 to 17 years old sa November 3 dahil nakita natin na maganda naman ang naging result ng ating trials at pilot sa hospitals. Nakita natin very minimum ‘yung adverse effects,” Galvez said in an interview with Super Radyo dzBB on Wednesday.
Up to 14,000 minors with comorbidities have reportedly been vaccinated.
“Nakapagbakuna na tayo ng more than 14,000, i-o-open na po natin para wala nang tinatawag nating bottleneck ,” he added.
According to the secretary, private companies can also vaccinate adolescent dependents of their employees.
“Pwede na po ‘yun, just in case sa November 3 pwede na po mag-start. They have to coordinate with the different LGUs…coordinate with the National Vaccination Operation Center para ma-inspect at sa training ,” said Galvez.
It will also add 40 to 50 hospitals nationwide that will vaccinate minors.
On Monday, Galvez said they target to finish vaccinating minors by December to protect them from severe COVID-19 infection.
Ages 12-17 can be given COVID-19 vaccine on Nov. 3, 2021
The National Task Force Against COVID-19 announced that an estimated 12.7 million adolescents are targeted to be vaccinated.
In a separate statement, the Department of Health (DOH) said the government would continue to use Pfizer and Moderna in vaccination.
“Further details and the guidelines concerning the nationwide expansion of pediatric vaccination will be released once finalized,” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
Meanwhile, the Department of Education (DepEd) hopes that the list of private and public schools that will participate in pilot face-to-face classes in November will be completed this week.
DepEd targets to get 100 public schools and 20 private schools for the dry run of physical classes.
At the press conference of the Council for the Welfare of Children, DepEd Dir Roger Masapol said that most of the school personnel who will participate in face-to-face classes have also been vaccinated, and others have already received the first dose.
Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.