Covid-19 jabs for teens ‘very different’ from Dengvaxia: NTF

MANILA – A ranking government official said coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) jabs for adolescents will be both “safe and effective,” noting that several other countries have already safely administered these vaccines in their younger population.

During the arrival of over 1.2 million doses of the Moderna vaccine at the NAIA Terminal 1 on Thursday, National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said the country’s children and adolescent population, or Category C, will be vaccinated “slowly, surely and closely monitored.”

“I know na marami talagang nag-aalala sa Dengvaxia, but this is very different. Nakita natin na nagamit muna ang mga vaccine na ‘to sa mga milyon-milyon na mga bata globally (I know that many are worried about Dengvaxia, but this is very different. We have seen this vaccine used in millions of children globally),” Galvez said.

He noted that some countries have even begun vaccinating those aged 5 to 11 years old.

Similar to the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines to the Category A population — those in the frontlines, senior citizens, and with comorbidities — back in March, he said the vaccination for teens and children in the country will be cautious, with only five to six select hospitals specializing in comorbidities to be allowed to vaccinate.

“For example sa [Philippine] Heart Center [PHC], sa [Philippine] Children’s [Medical] Center (PCMC), sa NKTI (National Kidney and Transplant Institute), at sa UP [Philippine] General Hospital (UP-PGH) — yan yung mga tinitignan natin na pwede mag-open muna in the meantime (For example at the PHC, PCMC, NKTI, and the UP-PGH — that’s where we’re thinking to open in the meantime),” Galvez said.

Initially, he said adolescents — aged 14 to 17 or 15 to 17 — with comorbidities or those whose parents are health care workers will be prioritized.

“And then we would observe, kung maging maganda ang flow, ang gagawin natin (if it flows well, what we will do is) we will go to other cities in Metro Manila,” Galvez said.

He called on the public to avoid being “over-cautious,” noting that Covid-19 vaccines used in the country have already been proven to be “very safe and effective.”

“I would like to appeal to the public na gagawin po namin lahat to make sure na our vaccination will be safe, yung safety measures i-implement po natin (we will do everything to make sure our vaccinations will be safe, we will implement safety measures),” Galvez said.