National COVID-19 vaccination rollout for aged 5 to 11 starts Feb. 14 –NVOC

The COVID-19 vaccination rollout of children aged 5 to 11 will start on February 14 following its pilot implementation, the National Vaccination Operations Center said Saturday.

"Hinahanda rin natin ang national rollout. Ito naman po ay mangyayari on February 14," NVOC co-lead Dr. Kezia Lorraine Rosario said at the Laging Handa briefing.

(We are preparing for the national rollout on February 14.)

Rosario said they were only expecting to vaccinate about 1,000 children during the pilot implementation, which starts this February 7-Monday.

"We are seeing how well will the [pilot] rollout goes, its operations, as well as the acceptance of vaccine recipients, which are the children and their parents," Rosario said in Filipino.

Vaccination sites in Metro Manila, Region 3, and Region 4 would be expanded to 38.

Rosario said they were only expecting to vaccinate about 1,000 children during the pilot implementation, which starts this February 7-Monday.

"We are seeing how well will the [pilot] rollout go, its operations, as well as the acceptance of vaccine recipients, which are the children and their parents," Rosario said in Filipino.

Vaccination sites in Metro Manila, Region 3, and Region 4 would be expanded to 38.

Rosario said about 500,000 children had been registered for the vaccination rollout, mostly from the urban areas.

Around 780,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines for children have arrived, and around 1.5 million doses are still expected next week, she added.

At the same time, the government targeted to vaccinate about five million individuals for the upcoming "Bayanihan, Bakunahan" to be held on February 10 and 11.

In total, more than 20 million individuals are targeted to be vaccinated against COVID-19 for this February, DOH said.

Rosario urged hesitant parents that vaccines are safe for children, and they needed it as protection against COVID-19. — DVM, GMA News