PH receives 780,000 more Pfizer jabs for kids

The Philippines received an additional 780,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine formulated for children aged 5 to 11.

This brings the total number of government-procured doses for this age group to 1.56 million, as the country previously received 780,000 doses on February 4.

Around 38,000 children aged five to 11 have received their first dose since the pediatric vaccination for this age group commenced on Monday, February 7, across multiple vaccination sites nationwide.

Four children experienced minor side effects, equivalent to 0.01 percent of those vaccinated, with no major side effects reported.

Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. emphasized the importance of inoculating students for the safe resumption of physical classes.

The pilot rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination for children in this age group started in the National Capital Region (NCR) at six sites, including the Philippine Heart Center and Manila Zoo.

The Department of Health recorded 4,575 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the Philippines' total case load to 3,627,575.