The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) on Thursday slammed the Department of Health (DOH) over its policy to let the Department of Social Welfare and Development act as a substitute parent or parens patriae for children whose parents or guardians refuse to allow their kids get vaccinated against COVID-19.
This as the DOH on Thursday moved the start of COVID-19 vaccination for children 5 to 11 years old to Feb. 7, citing logistical challenges.
The vaccination drive was supposed to start on Friday, Feb. 4, but the Pfizer vaccines for that age group would only arrive on the evening of that day, the DOH said. To ensure adequate time to prepare and distribute the vaccines, the start of the vaccination drive was moved to Monday, Feb. 7.
The PAO represents two parents who have petitioned a Quezon City regional trial court to stop Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire and members of the DOH Public Health Services Team from carrying out Department Memorandum No. 2022-0041 issued Jan. 24.
“In case the parent/guardian refuses to give consent to the vaccination despite the desire and willingness of the minor child to have himself/herself vaccinated, or there are no persons that may legally exercise parental authority over the child, the state may act as parens patriae and give the necessary consent. Therefore, the proper officer representing the state as parens patriae may sign the consent form. In this regard, the DSWD or its city/municipal counterparts shall serve as the proper office who shall represent the state,” the memorandum reads.
Dominic Almelor, a former ABS-CBN news reporter and father of a 7-year-old boy, and Girlie Samonte, mother of two children, aged 7 and 9, are asking the court “to uphold their right to consent (and necessarily, right to refuse consent to COVID-19 vaccination) on behalf of their children, and ultimately, protect the life and health of the latter and other children similarly threatened of exposure to undue risks to their life and health.”
PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta, along with the two petitioners, said their petition was filed “not to purposely denigrate President Rodrigo Duterte and his administration’s efforts in trying to control the current global pandemic…”
They also said the suit must not be interpreted as being “anti-vaccination.”
But Almelor and Samonte said the DOH memorandum was issued in “grave abuse of discretion and unconstitutional, given all the red flags against administration of COVID-19 vaccines to children.”
Almelor, who himself is fully vaccinated with Moderna mRNA, rejected the vaccination of his son with waiver of liability in case of a serious illness, permanent disability or death.
Samonte previously filed a criminal complaint against Duque, other active and former health officials, and executives of Sanofi Pasteur Inc. and Zuellig Pharma Co. when her son suffered from a series of seizures after getting the Dengvaxia vaccine in 2017.
Acosta herself has come under fire for admitting that she has not been vaccinated, saying she was waiting for “a protein-based” vaccine.
The DOH emphasized the importance of vaccinating children to protect them against COVID-19.
“The National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) of the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 remains committed to ensure that all Filipinos, including the children, get vaccinated,” the DOH said.
On Thursday, the National Children’s Hospital (NCH) said it has logged a total of 1,467 registrants aged 5-11.
National Children’s Hospital Medical chief Dr. Moriel Creencia said that as part of their preparations, they established online registration where parents or guardians could fill up a form for the inoculation of their young children.
She said those who registered should have received a text message confirming their vaccination schedule. However, those who did not may go directly to the NCH as they accept walk-ins.
The NCH has also trained and oriented the vaccinators, made ready the ancillary supplies, and prepared the venue for the inoculation.
“Of course, we set up TV sets so the children don’t get bored,” she said.
The COVID-19 vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 will be initially rolled out in six vaccination sites in Metro Manila, including the NCH.
Other participating areas for this vaccination drive are The Philippine Heart Center, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Manila Zoo, SM North Edsa (Skydome), and FilOil Gym in San Juan City.
Around 7 million children are under this age group.
National Task Force Against COVID-19 medical adviser Dr. Ted Herbosa said that the first tranche of the vaccination drive for the 5 to 11 years old will prioritize those with comorbidities or with preexisting health conditions.
“What we would use is the orange cap or vial which has a dosage of 0.2ml equivalent to 10 micrograms. In one dose or bottle, we could give 10 doses,” Creencia noted.
Children who get vaccinated could also expect pain in the injected area and experience flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, and
muscle pain.
Those with a history of allergies will be asked to stay for 30 minutes after the inoculation so they can be observed.
Creencia said 44 children tested positive for COVID-19 in the NCH and exhibited symptoms. Of this number, two were in critical condition.
Because of this, Creencia encouraged parents to let their children get vaccinated so that they could finally go out and go back to school in
the new normal.
“Let’s veer away from the thinking that vaccines are bad or deadly. Of course, there would be unexpected reactions that could happen but
that’s only a small percentage,” she said.
On Nov. 3, 2021, the Philippines started the COVID-19 vaccination for minors aged 12 to 17.
In late December 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine for 5 to 11 years
old.
The Department of Finance said Thursday it has already signed agreements for an additional $800 million (about P40 billion) in financing for COVID-19 boosters along with vaccine doses for the pediatric population.
In a statement, the DoF said these were enough to inoculate children aged 5 to 11 years old against COVID-19.
Finance Undersecretary Mark Dennis Joven said the additional loan amount would augment the current funding for pediatric vaccines and would enable the delivery of 30 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine for the 5-11 age group.
As of Jan. 14, 2022, the DoF already raised a total of $22.55 billion in budgetary support financing in relation to its COVID-19 response from the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Agence Française de Développement, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Korean Export-Import Bank–Economic Development Cooperation Fund and foreign currency denominated global bonds.
In addition, grant and loan financing amounting to a total of $3.25 billion have been contracted in support of various projects to be implemented by agencies involved in COVID-19 response, the DoF said.
