June 12 ------ Pediatric doctors in the Philippines welcomed the Department of Health's (DOH) announcement that the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will now cover individuals aged 12 and up. "Ang Philippine Pediatric Stociety at Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines eh nag-issue ng statement na puwede namang mabakunahan na dahil meron tayong awtoridad pero ang priority pa rin ang nakakatanda sa age group na 'yon," Dr. Carmela Kasala, spokesperson of the Philippine Pediatric Society, said in an interview on GMA News' Unang Balita on Wednesday.
Kasala said although COVID-19 usually affects those who are older, there were also children who got infected. "Right now ang ating thrust [sa vaccination] eh 18 and above dahil 'yung mga bakuna natin ay 18 and above ang EUA nila. Ang pinakatinatamaan ng COVID ay ang age group na 'yon. Ang kabataan hindi masyadong tinatamaan pero siyempre may mga a little statistics din tayo for COVID-19 but not as much as the elderly and middle-aged group, 'yung more than 18, I mean," she said.
It was on Tuesday when the DOH announced the Philippines has expanded its EUA of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to cover individuals aged 12 and above. “While we welcome more vaccines that are approved for children and adolescents, due to limited vaccine supply, our vaccination strategy remains the same — prioritize the vulnerable and adhere to our prioritization framework,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said. “The general consensus of our vaccine experts is to revisit pediatric and adolescent vaccination once our vaccine supply has stabilized,” she added. Initially, the Pfizer jab was only approved for use on individuals aged 16 and above.
Face-to-face classes
Asked about requiring vaccinations against COVID-19 among schoolchildren should face-to-face classes be allowed, Kasala said that would be ideal. However, the current EUA is only for those aged 12 and up, she added. "Mas maganda nga sana. Remember the age group for this kabataan is just until 12 years of age. Those younger will not be vaccinated yet. Wala pang polisiya about that," she said.
Pfizer Inc said on Tuesday it will begin testing its COVID-19 vaccine in a larger group of children under age 12 after selecting a lower dose of the shot in an earlier stage of the trial, Reuters reported. Some 4,500 children at more than 90 clinical sites in the United States, Finland, Poland and Spain will be the subjects in the study, the company said.
Myocarditis
Asked about the observation in Israel that some young men in Israel developed heart inflammation after receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, Kasala said it has not yet been established that there is a causal link. "That's actually a small study in Israel. Sa ngayon, inoobserbahan pa 'yan. Naghihintay pa ng ibang studies to actually link, kung actually dahil sa bakuna, o nagkataon lang na may myocarditis o pamamaga ng puso," she said.
Source: gmanetwork.com