PRESIDENT Duterte has given the go-signal for the vaccination of the general population, including children, against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) starting October.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque yesterday said the President approved the recommendation of vaccine czar Carlito Galvez on Monday night during his weekly meeting with the members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
“Magsisimula na po ang pagbabakuna sa general population itong buwan ng Oktubre. Ito po ay inaprubahan na ng Pangulo sang-ayon sa advice ni vaccine czar Carlito Galvez (The vaccination of the general population will start this month of October. This was approved by the President based on the advice of vaccine czar Carlito Galvez),” Roque said.
Roque did not mention the specific ages of the kids to be inoculated, the brand of the vaccine or if there will be prioritization among the adolescents but said the details and guidelines for the public vaccination will released soon.
Galvez has earlier recommended the inoculation of 12 to 17-year-olds by the middle of October, as he noted that more children are getting infected with the virus.
He assured those belonging to the A1 (heath workers, their families and overseas Filipino workers who are leaving for abroad), A2 (senior citizens and a companion), A3 (persons with comorbidities) categories that they will continue to be prioritized.
Roque said the abundance of vaccine supply in the country, including the expected arrival of more doses in October, was a main factor in the President’s decision.
The President, during his Talk to the People Address on Monday night, said total vaccine arrivals in the country is expected to reach 100 million by October.
In line with the President’s approval, Roque appealed to parents to register their children so they can be included in the “master listing” of those who will be inoculated.
Several local governments have already opened pre-registration for COVID-19 vaccination of children aged 12 to 17 years old.
Galvez has previously said that once the vaccination of kids is approved, those with comorbidities and the children of health workers will be prioritized.
He also said the mass vaccination, including of kids, aims to cover more individuals, and bring the country closer to vaccinating up to 80 percent to 90 percent of the total population, as well as convince more elders to be inoculated.
Roque said that as of September 27, government has administered 44.36 million vaccines nationwide, with 20.58 million or 26.68 percent of the eligible population already fully vaccinated, or those who have received their two doses.
In the National Capital Region (NCR), 15.466 million doses of vaccine have been administered, with 7.81 million or 72.43 percent of the eligible population already fully vaccinated.
Galvez, in his report to the President, said that outside of the NCR, regions with the highest vaccination rates are the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) with 28.13 percent of its population inoculated, followed by the Davao Region (Region XI) with 25.44 percent, Calabarzon (Region IV-A) with 24.96 percent, Central Luzon (Region III) with 22.71 percent, CARAGA with 21.31 percent and Western Visayas (Region VI) with 20.4 percent.
He said the government is targeting to administer 35 million vaccine doses by the end of September, and 55 million doses by October.
He was optimistic that the vaccine targets, especially in October, will be doable as long as the vaccine supply reaches 100 million next month and the vaccine rate per day is raised to 500,000 to 800,000 doses daily from the current 366,765 daily jab average.
The government has received 69.699 million doses of vaccines since February. The number does not include yet the 391,950 doses of government-procured Pfizer vaccines that are expected to arrive on Tuesday night.
