The National Government commenced its pilot implementation of COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 5 to 11 years old through the “Resbakuna Kids” campaign.
Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco T. Duque III and National Task Force (NTF) Chief Implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. attended the ceremonial launching at Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) and National Children’s Hospital (NCH), respectively.
The government said that the rollout of “Resbakuna Kids” will be implemented in a phased approach, utilizing both hospital-based and local government unit (LGU)-based vaccination sites, to maximize accessibility to the general public. At present, there are a total of 38 sites around the National Capital Region (NCR), five in Region III, three in Region IV-A, and one in BARMM with Region XII. The government added that as the rollout progresses, more vaccination sites will be available in the coming days.
“As we are starting to achieve a majority of fully vaccinated Filipinos, it is now the time to give our children the protection that they need against COVID-19,” said Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez, Jr.
“In today's vaccination roll-out, we are providing all members of the Filipino family — Lolo, Lola, Tatay, Nanay, Kuya, Ate, at Bunso — with a stronger layer of protection against the deadly virus,” Sec. Galvez emphasized.
Sec. Galvez added, “We are ensuring the health and safety of children as we begin to reopen our schools and face to face classes. By doing this, we are also protecting the mental health of young ones.”
As of 7 February, 4:00 PM, 7,416 children aged 5 to 11 had been vaccinated with a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. LGUs and parents are encouraged to ramp-up and continue pre-registering their children to ensure many kids get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Following several countries, such as the United States and Singapore, who offer additional protection to children aged 5 to 11 years old from COVID-19, over 8.7 million children have already been vaccinated worldwide, with zero deaths attributable to vaccines, 0.00013% serious adverse events, 2.4% with mild side effects all of whom have recovered, and 97.6% without any side effects.
The DOH reminds the Filipino people that vaccination is not mandatory and consent is a must. All COVID-19 vaccines being given by the government are guaranteed safe, effective, and of quality, which is backed up by scientific research and data. The DOH further emphasizes that getting children vaccinated against COVID-19 remains to be the best protection against hospitalization caused by severe and critical symptoms.
“We must continue to work in achieving population protection by vaccinating and practicing the minimum public health standards as these measures will help in achieving maximum protection against the virus. With these, we can move forward towards a safer community – for ourselves and for the children of the future,” says Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III.
