780K doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for kids 5 to 11 arrive

A total of 780,000 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 arrived in the country on Friday night.

The government-procured vaccine supply were unloaded at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 past 9 p.m.

Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said the vaccination roll out for the said age group will start on Monday, with the arrival of the first batch of Pfizer vaccine.

“Masaya kaming binabalita na matutuloy na ang ating rollout sa pagbabakuna para sa batang edad 5 hanggang 11 sa Lunes. Gusto ko pong siguraduhin ang ating mga magulang na ang mga bakunang ito ay ligtas at masusing pinag-aralan ng mga pinakamahusay sa buong mundo,” Galvez said.

(We are happy to announce that vaccination rollout for children aged 5 to 11 will start on Monday. I assure our parents that these vaccines are safe and thoroughly studied by the best health experts in the world.)

He also urged parents to register their children to get inoculated against COVID-19.

Asked about the petition seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the vaccination rollout, Galvez said, “May kumpiyansa kami na makikita ng ating mga judges yung magiging merit ng TRO at we are very confident that many people, many parents, and also overwhelmingly ang ating mga mamamayan susuportahan po tayo dahil nakikita po natin na malaki ang pakinabang ng bakuna dito sa pandemya.”

(We are confident that our judges will see the possible merits of the TRO and we are very confident that many people, many parents, and also overwhelmingly our citizens will support us because we see that the vaccine has great benefits in this pandemic.)

“We cannot go out to the new normal without the vaccine so nakikita namin na we will proceed,” he added.

The Philippine government has earlier postponed the COVID-19 vaccination of minors aged 5 to 11 to Monday, February 7 due to logistical challenges.

Malacañang has said initially that the vaccination would be rolled out in six vaccination sites in the National Capital Region on Friday.

These are the Philippine Heart Center, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, National Children’s Hospital, Manila Zoo, SM North Edsa (Skydome), and the Fil Oil Gym in San Juan City.

The Philippines on Friday recorded 8,564 new COVID-19 infections bringing the nationwide caseload to 3,594,002.—LDF, GMA News