VACCINATION of minors aged 12 to 17 with comorbidities will be rolled out nationwide starting October 29.

Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. made the announcement on Saturday.

“We will be having a rollout of children’s vaccination to all LGUs and we are very thankful that as of this moment, our vaccination for children has been rolled out in 17 different cities in NCR,” Galvez said.

“On October 29, we will open up the rollout to LGUs including provinces and cities,” he added.

Galvez noted the schedule was sped up since majority of the local government units outside Metro Manila are already prepared for the pediatric inoculation.

He added vaccination sites in provinces may be established in open fields near hospitals in preparation for adverse reactions on children.

The Department of Health earlier said about 5,781 minors aged 15 to 17 with health risk have been vaccinated against Covid19 as of October 21.

Of the number, the health department said only four children experienced adverse effect after getting Covid19 jabs.

Meanwhile, U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Heather Variava said she visited one of the hospitals in Metro Manila to witness the inoculation of children.

“We’re delighted that more is coming in the Philippines specifically because we’re vaccinating children ages 12 and above. I had the opportunity to visit a hospital in Manila today when I saw some of the children being vaccinated,” Variava said.

The Philippines started giving out jabs to minors on October 15.

From eight hospitals during phase one of the pediatric vaccination, more than 20 hospitals and jabs sites conducted simultaneous inoculation on October 22 for phase two.

Adolescents with underlying medical conditions such as medical complexity, genetic condition, neurologic conditions, metabolic or endocrine diseases, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, HIV infection, tuberculosis, chronic respiratory disease, renal disorders, hepatobiliary disease, and immunocompromised due to disease or treatment were given priority.

The minors were given Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the two brands approved by the Food and Drug Administration for adolescents aged 12 to 17.