Further studies were needed before administering COVID-19 vaccines to children, according to Duque.
On Monday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that further studies were needed before administering COVID-19 vaccines to children.
In President Rodrigo Duterte’s weekly “Talk to the People” briefing, Duque said that there needs to be more study on the safety of vaccines for children.
With the limited supplies, Duque said that the target eligible population or those aged 18 years old and above must be prioritized in the vaccination. He also said that they’re considering vaccination to children who have comorbidities once the vaccine supply was stabilized.
READ ALSO | Galvez: Vaccination of 12-17 Age Group May Start End-September or October
Meanwhile, senators recently gave their respective opinions on vaccinating children against COVID-19.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, COVID-19 vaccines for minors weren’t yet included in the budget, adding that the DOH was requesting an additional PHP 25 billion for the vaccination of those 12 to 15-years-old. Also, Lacson said that those aged 16 to 17 weren’t yet included in the DOH’s request.
For her part, Senator Nancy Binay said that she backed the initiative to inoculate as many age groups as possible — including minors — amidst the continuing threat of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, she said that the vaccination process should still focus on vulnerable sectors. According to Binay, it would be unfair to talk about the vaccination of children when a huge part of the priority age groups weren’t vaccinated yet.
READ ALSO: Vaccination of 12-17 Age Group Would Mean 12M To 14M More People To Vaccinate — FDA
Senator Ralph Recto, on the other hand, emphasized that the government should balance its COVID-19 vaccine procurement and advised the government to not solely rely on the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine.
As to the budget for the vaccination of children against COVID-19, Senator Franklin Drilon said that there were enough undisbursed budget items in the 2020 and 2021 GAAs and the GOCCs that can be realigned to vaccine procurement until December 31, 2021.
According to Senator Sonny Angara, the allocation of funds for this matter should be studied.
For more news and updates, you may feel free to visit this site more often. You may also visit Newspapers.ph via our official Facebook page and YouTube channel.
