Minors aged 12 to 17 could get vaccinated against COVID-19 by mid-October, with millions of jabs expected to arrive, the Philippines' immunization czar said Friday.
Children of health frontliners and those with comorbidities will be prioritized in the rollout, said Sec. Carlito Galvez, also the chief implementer of the country's COVID response.
“We are proposing to open up the vaccination for children by mid-October. Kasi by mid of October, may additional pa tayong 20 million [doses] na darating plus 'yung 23 million [doses], kayang-kaya na nating i-vaccinate ‘yung 12 million na mga bata na 12 to 17 [years old],” Galvez said.
NEWS YOU CAN USE: Metro Manila Cities Signing Up 12 to 17 Year-Olds for COVID Vaccine
The Philippines is battling one of Southeast Asia's worst COVID outbreaks that is driven by the Delta variant. The surge drove total cases past the two-million mark with record daily cases recorded in September.
The country has yet to deploy 23 million doses out of the nearly 66 million jabs that it received since February. The target is to vaccinate up to 90% of the population with two doses by early 2022.
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