MANILA, Philippines – The number of minors with co-morbidities who were inoculated against COVID-19 has reached 12,958, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said Tuesday.
In a statement, Galvez said that from the initial eight hospitals, the country now has 26 hospitals administering COVID-19 vaccines to the pediatric sector.
“We want to protect our children from severe disease and hospitalization. Kasi nakita natin noong Delta, almost 20 percent or 17 percent po ang nakita natin na na-hospitalize na mga bata,” he said.
With the country’s increasing vaccine supply, Galvez said the national government will continue to accelerate the vaccine rollout for this age group by opening more vaccination sites for them.
The vaccine czar stressed that vaccinating children against coronavirus disease will also be instrumental in the reopening of face-to-face classes and ‘ancillary businesses’ related to the education sector.
He likewise cited the social and mental impact of restricting the movement of children since the pandemic started.
He said allowing them to have “leeway to move around and play” will not just help in protecting the mental well-being of minors, but also revive economic activities especially this holiday season.
“We can only do these kung ma-vaccinate na rin natin ang mga bata so they will have ‘yung consumers’ confidence to go out,” Galvez said.
The national government aims to complete the vaccination of children within this age group by December.
Based on the 2021 Philippine Projected Population of the Philippine Statistics Authority, the country has a population of 12,722,070 under the 12 to 17 years old age group.
As of October 25, there are now 25,955,669 fully vaccinated individuals in the country, which represents 33.65% of the country’s target population.
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