DDC School Doctor

DOH PRESS RELEASE
PR No: 2021-09-29-01
29 September 2021
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DOH: VACCINATION AMONG CHILDREN AGED 12-17 TO START WITH COMORBIDITIES, AS PART OF A3 GROUP
Press Release | 29 September 2021

The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed that pediatric vaccination will start among 12 to 17 year olds with comorbidities as part of Priority Group A3. Expansion beyond this group will follow once adequate coverage of the A2 priority group or senior citizens has been achieved nationwide and vaccine supply becomes sufficient to include children.

The DOH emphasized the need for a careful and planned rollout of vaccines for children. Considering that the risks of contracting severe COVID-19 infection or dying from COVID-19 is significantly lower for healthy children, it follows that the benefits from vaccination relative to the risk of a healthy child is also lower, compared to a sick child, adult or senior citizen.

In finalizing the guidelines, the DOH is ensuring that (1) informed consent by the parent /guardian and child prior to vaccination will be obtained; (2) supply availability of Pfizer and Moderna, the only vaccines with emergency use authorization for 12 to 17 years old issued by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration; and more importantly, (3) equitable access to medical clearance by a physician for children with co-morbidities.

“For the initial run, we recommend that children with co-morbidities will be vaccinated in selected sites with clearance from their pediatricians or trained doctors, or for far-flung or Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA), with clearance from on-site trained physicians guided by a checklist from the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines (PIDSP). We have to ensure that children have equitable access to vaccines. Eventually, as we get more local experience, we will be able to retool our current vaccinators on the additional precautionary steps on screening and vaccine administration,” said DOH Spokesperson and Undersecretary Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire.

The DOH further called on all those eligible among the adult population to get vaccinated and get the additional protection that vaccines offer to also protect children who cannot be vaccinated as of this time.

“Like what our DOH All Expert Group has always emphasized, even if we have approved the recommendation to vaccinate children with comorbidities, we still have to increase our vaccination coverage among other priority groups, especially our senior citizens. COVID-19 vaccines continue to offer the protection they promised against severe COVID-19 and deaths, but we have to remember to still adhere to the minimum public health standards as we may still get infected or infect others,” said Usec. Singh-Vergeire.

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A new CDC study shows that people who were fully vaccinated had more than 10 times lower risk of being hospitalized or dying with COVID-19 compared with people who were not fully vaccinated. COVID-19 vaccines offer strong protection against serious illness and death even with the Delta variant. The best way to protect yourself and those around you is to get vaccinated. More: bit.ly/MMWR91021.

Like many other health systems, we are closely monitoring the vaccination status of our COVID-19 inpatients and tracking how many are vaccinated and how many have breakthrough infections. As of midnight on September 1, unvaccinated patients made up:
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88% of patients hospitalized with COVID
90% of COVID-19 patients in the ICU
87% of COVID-19 patients on a ventilator
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These numbers back up what science has told us so far: while vaccinated individuals still have a chance of contracting COVID-19, they are MUCH less likely to get severely sick or require hospitalization. Currently, about 35% of Wake County is unvaccinated – and yet this group accounts for the vast majority of our inpatient and severely sick, COVID-19 cases. This speaks to the vaccine’s strong, protective effect.
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If you aren't vaccinated, we encourage you to get the vaccine. There are options to schedule or walk-in: https://www.wakemed.org/patients-and-visitors/covid-19-information/covid-19-vaccine/

Vaccination develops immunity from COVID-19 more effectively than getting infected and sick.

KNOW YOUR COVID-19 VACCINES!
Data as of April 19, 2021

Information you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccines on our current portfolio:

✅ Technology Platform;
✅ Issuance of Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA);
✅ How many doses and interval in which each dose is taken;
✅ Storage and cold chain requirements;
✅ How well it will do in preventing symptomatic and severe COVID-19; and
✅ Common side effects you can expect following the latest Phase III clinical trials data.

Know the right information! Be part of the !

Visit doh.gov.ph/vaccines for more information about COVID-19 vaccines in the Philippines.

References:
A. bit.ly/FDA_EUA
B. bit.ly/PfizerJournal, bit.ly/AstraJournal, bit.ly/Gamaleya, bit.ly/ModernaJournal, bit.ly/BharatBioTech
C. bit.ly/WHOLandscapeTracker
D. bit.ly/WHO_EUL
E. bit.ly/FDAPH
F. bit.ly/ClinicalTrialsGov_
G. bit.ly/CDCGov_
H. bit.ly/Novavax_
I. bit.ly/FDA_EUA
J. bit.ly/Janssen_



Plus sa COVID-19