FDA approves Sinovac EUA For pediatric vaccination

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the emergency use authorization of the Sinovac vaccine for the COVID-19 vaccination of minors aged 6 and above, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday.

"Ang ating FDA ay nagpalabas ng kanyang approved EUA for Sinovac noong March 11 for children 6 years and above," Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said during the Laging Handa briefing.

(Our FDA released an approved EUA for Sinovac on March 11 for children 6 years and above.)

"Kaya ngayon ginagawa na namin 'yung ating implementing guidelines with inputs from our experts. Gagamitin na 'yan natin for 6 years and above," she added.

(So now we are creating the implementing guidelines with inputs from our experts. We will use these for 6 years and above.)

Cabotaje said they will monitor this as the EUA of Sinovac indicates that the vaccine is for "healthy children."

"So baka hindi kasama 'yung ating mga with comorbidities (so we may not include those with comorbidities)," she said.

Meanwhile, Cabotaje said doses that will be used for the pediatric vaccination has the same formulation as doses given to adults.

"Hindi kagaya ng Pfizer na may reformulated kasi spike protein 'yan na concentrated. Dito sa Sinovac, kung ano 'yung formulation sa adult, 'yun din ang formulation sa bata," she said.

(It's not like Pfizer that has a reformulated dose because it has concentrated spike protein. For Sinovac, the formulation given to adults will be given to children.)

"So we don't need to buy additional Sinovac. We have enough on stock," she added.

In a media briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the recommendation of the Health Technology Assessment Council might be released in two weeks.

“Sinisimulan na rin po ng… HTAC ang pagaaral ng mga ebidensya at datos hinggil sa pagtuturok nito sa ating mga kabataan,” Vergeire said.

(HTAC is also now studying the evidence and data for the vaccination.)

Citing a study from Chile, Vergeire said around 2 million children aged 6 to 16 vaccinated with Sinovac were 91% more protected against hospitalization and 94% more protected against admission to the ICU.

“Kaya po muli hinihikayat namin, ang ating mga magulang ang ating legal guardians, pabakunahan na po natin ang ating mga kabataan sa lalong madaling panahon para sa proteksyon mula sa COVID-19,” she said.

(That’s why we are again urging our parents and legal guardians to vaccinate our children at the most available time to give them protection against COVID-19.)

Vergeire said the Philippines has also vaccinated more than 1.2 million minors aged 5 to 11 and 9.7 million minors aged 12 to 17.

Meanwhile, Cabotaje said the Philippines is ready to donate Sputnik and Moderna doses that are set to expire in two months.

Bayanihan, Bakunahan

Cabotaje also said the Bayanihan, Bakunahan IV was extended in some local government units and regions.

"Pinagbigyan natin ang hiling ng ibang rehiyon at saka ng ibang mga LGUs na ituloy 'yung kanilang bakunahan hanggang ngayong umaga Tuesday para sa general population, 'yung ating first doses tapos 'yung ating booster doses," she said.

(We approved the request of several regions and LGUs to continue their vaccination until today, Tuesday morning, for the general population. The first doses and our booster doses.)

The vaccination of senior citizens will, meanwhile, be extended until Friday.

Cabotaje said the regions with the lowest vaccination rates are the Bangsamoro Region and some provinces in Region XII.

Meanwhile, the Heath official said there may no longer be national vaccination days as the government shifts its focus on specific areas.

"Baka hindi na tayo magkaroon ng national vaccination day. Mas focus na sa mga probinsyang kailangan ng tulong. Doon ibubuhos," she said.

(We may not have another vaccination days. We will focus on provinces that really need help. We will put our resources to that.)

As of March 14, Vergeire said a total of 1,400,800 jabs were administered in the last vaccination days.

Vergeire said the government had lowered its target for the national vaccination days because the country is at its “last mile” of its vaccination program.

She said factors being considered for the turnout included vaccine hesitancy, ageism among seniors, and decreasing manpower as non-COVID services go back to their normal operations.

Meanwhile, as of March 15, 64.6 million or 71.84% of the target population have been fully vaccinated while 69.8 million or 77.6% of the target population have received their first dose.

Around 11.2 million have received their booster shots. —AOL/NB,GMA News