PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte commended community participation in the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11, saying that he is happy about how Filipinos are working together against Covid19.

In his pre-recorded public address, Duterte expressed his gratitude to volunteer doctors who choose to make the government’s pediatric inoculation possible.

“I join you in expressing my gratitude for making it possible, each and every one of you. Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat at minsan natuturuan ninyo ang gobyerno ninyo,” he said.

“Your contributions, especially in making it a more memorable experience for the child, would go a long way also to how he improves his paradigm towards life,” he added.

At least 437,939 kids below 11 years old have received their first dose of Covid19 vaccine as of February 21, according to vaccine czar Secretary Galvez Jr.

As for minors aged 12 to 17, Galvez noted that around 65 percent or 8,295,474 have been fully vaccinated while 9,426,750 have yet to receive their second dose.

Meanwhile, Galvez said that the government is still “waiting and seeing the approval from the stringent regulatory country” like the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe on the vaccination of 0 to 4 years old.

“Wait and see po muna tayo, dahil kasi wala pa tayong mga datos para sa pagbabakuna ng 0-4,” he told the President.

“But our preparations will be on the second quarter. As we understand, the vaccines that will be used for our toddlers, or mga tinatawag na mga baby, will be a different reformulation,” he added.

The Philippines aims to vaccinate more than 39 million youngsters aged 17 and below.