THE VACCINATION of children aged 5 to 11 against Covid19 will begin once health experts completed their assessment of vaccine, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said.

“The 5 to 11 age brackets, most likely, it takes time for the assessment and also we will also look at the experience in the United States. Once Pfizer submits the dossier for its approval here, I believe it will take only a few weeks before the Philippines Food and Drug Administration can announce its decision. More or less, they might approve it by December,” Galvez said.

Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration authorized for emergency use the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11.

Once allowed, Galvez said they will follow the same procedure that was observed in inoculating minors aged 12 to 17.

“We will use the same protocol since it gives us a leeway to see for ourselves how we can inoculate based on sequential manner,” he said.

The Department of Health reported that around 34,000 minors aged 12 to 17 have received their Covid19 jabs.

Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said only 36 children experienced adverse effects, with three of them tagged as severe cases.

Cabotaje noted that the department is closely monitoring the developments of Covid19 vaccination among children below 12 years old from other countries.

“Considering sa ibang bansa nagsimula na sila ng below 12 years old. So, hihintayin natin ‘yung mga resulta ng pag-aaral,” she said.

The government is set to start the vaccination of minors with or without comorbidities on November 3.