(PNA photo by Gil Calinga)
MANILA – The country’s vaccine experts are working on the implementing guidelines for the administration of Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccine for children six years old and above, a health official said Tuesday.
On March 11, the Food and Drug Administration approved the emergency use authorization (EUA) for Sinovac’s CoronaVac which allows the Chinese vaccine to be used for pediatric vaccination.
“Parang paggamit din natin sa 5 years and above, kailangan titignan natin mabuti kasi ang nasa EUA ng Sinovac ay for healthy individuals, healthy children. So, baka hindi kasama 'yung ating mga (It’s like [the administration of vaccine] for 5 years and above, we need to be careful because the EUA for Sinovac states for healthy individuals, healthy children. So, this may not include children) with comorbidities,” National Vaccination Operations Center Chief Myrna Cabotaje said in a televised public briefing.
Cabotaje noted that the same CoronoVac dose formulation used on adults will be used on minors, unlike the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine which had to be reformulated.
“So, we don’t need to buy additional Sinovac [vaccines], we have enough on stock,” she said.
The government will not cut down its supply of Pfizer jab as it has procured only 15 million doses of Pfizer jabs for pediatric vaccination.
The NVOC earlier said there are 15.5 million children ages 5 to 11 years old nationwide.
The 15 million doses of Pfizer vaccine would cover seven million minors only since each child requires two doses of the vaccine.
Cabotaje said the government might consider procuring additional five million doses of Pfizer vaccine for minors.
“So, mga 20 million that will cover 10 million children na two doses (So, we’ll have 20 million [doses] that will cover 10 million children [needing] two doses). So, the Sinovac will provide additional quantities for the children and parents who may not want to use the Pfizer and they want to use the Sinovac,” she added. (PNA)
