The Department of Health (DOH) has listed 11 medical conditions that would make children aged 12 to 17 priorities for vaccination against COVID-19.
In a message to reporters, the DOH said children with the following medical conditions would get priority for vaccination: medical complexity, genetic conditions, neurologic conditions, metabolic or endocrine conditions, cardiovascular disease, obesity, HIV infection, tuberculosis, chronic respiratory disease, renal disorders, and hepatobiliary
In a media forum, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said children seeking vaccination must get a clearance from their doctors as well as give their consent.
Vergeire said children with comorbidities will be part of priority group A3.
The DOH earlier stressed the need for a carefully planned rollout of vaccines for children, especially since the risks of contracting severe forms of the disease are significantly lower for healthy children.
While vaccinations for children will be done in hospitals, Vergeire said there is no change in the process of registration. Parents will still have to register their children through their local governments.
Aside from comorbidities, other prerequisites would have to be presented before a child is vaccinated.
“Children with comorbidities need clearance from their doctor. They should also have informed consent and assent. This means their parents must give consent and children will give their assent,” Vergeire said in Filipino.
She said vaccinated children will also have to be monitored closely.
Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines will be used for children, as these are the only vaccines granted an emergency use authorization for younger age groups.
Vergeire declined to name the hospitals involved in the pilot implementation of pediatric vaccination, saying that an agreement has to be in place before she can make an announcement.
But Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said among the confirmed hospitals are the National Children’s Hospital, the Philippine Heart Center, and the Philippine General Hospital.
The Philippine Heart Center aims to inoculate children aged 15 to 17 with heart disease first.
“Once we are ready in the next two or three weeks, we can expand to regular sites,” Cabotaje said in GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.
“We are monitoring children with allergies because of the mRNA vaccine,” she added.