The Department of Health (DOH) has announced that adolescents in this age bracket with comorbidities have been included in the A3 priority sector of the national vaccination campaign.
Minors ages 12 to 17, especially those with co-morbidities, will be vaccinated in six hospitals beginning October 15, to ensure that they are protected once they return to physical classroom settings.
Those who are immunocompromised will be prioritized in the inoculation program for the country’s youth as the country prepares to reopen schools after over a year of lockdown and quarantine restrictions.
The Department of Health (DOH) has announced that adolescents in this age bracket with comorbidities have been included in the A3 priority sector of the national vaccination campaign.
They will be required to seek consent from parents or guardians and present a medical certification.
Metro Manila, the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic, will be the pilot area of the vaccination program for the youth, including Manila, Quezon City, Makati City, Pasig City, Taguig City and Mandaluyong City.
By November, the vaccine rollout for minors will be expanded in NCR and other regions that have attained 50 percent vaccination level of the elderly or the A2 priority group.
These include Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Central Visayas (including Cebu) and Davao region.
Comorbidities or underlying medical conditions that make children in this age group vulnerable are the following: medical complexity, genetic conditions, neurologic conditions, metabolic/endocrine, cardiovascular disease, obesity, HIV infection, tuberculosis, chronic respiratory disease, renal disorders and hepatobiliary disease.
This list was drawn up by the DOH in consultation with the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society, said an editorial of the Bulletin.
Hospitals that will administer Pfizer and Moderna (those approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the youth) vaccines for youth with comorbidities are: Philippine Children’s Medical Center, National Children’s Hospital, Philippine Heart Center, Pasig City General Hospital, Fe del Mundo Medical Center and Philippine General Hospital.
An estimated 2.7 million doses of Pfizer vaccines were recently received by the country from the Covax global facility.
The Philippines is among the last countries in the world to reopen schools since the onset of the global pandemic.
Already known to be tailing their Asian peers in key proficiency areas, Filipino children stand to suffer further stunting and scarring effects of prolonged lockdowns of schools.
During lockdowns, the Department of Education (DepEd) used blended distance learning methods side by side with modules.
But children and teachers had to reckon with weak internet connectivity, lack of gadgets “inequalities and unevenness in access to technology, household resources, and student skills for self-learning.”
Schools must be retrofitted to ensure proper air ventilation and physical distancing and strict enforcement of health and safety protocols would have to be assured.
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