PH To Add 13 More Hospitals In NCR To Vaccinate Minors

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte recently announced that 13 more hospitals would vaccinate children in the country’s National Capital Region (NCR).

In his talk to the People, President Duterte said that more than 1,100 minors aged 15 to 17 with comorbidities had been given their first vaccine jab against COVID-19. He also added that he would be including minors ages 12 to 14 in the current eligible group.

However, the president did not disclose the names of the 13 hospitals added to the current effort to vaccinate the country’s pediatric population.

A child being vaccinated with a Pfizer vaccine in Pasig City on 15 October 2021. Credit: Pasig City Public Information Office | Reuters

Currently, only eight hospitals in the Philippines are allowed to vaccinate minors. These hospitals are the Pasig City Children’s Hospital, Fe Del Mundo Medical Center, Philippine General Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital-Global City, Makati Medical Center, the National Children’s Hospital, and Philippine Heart Center.

The Philippines recently started vaccinating minors aged 15 to 17 on 15 October 2021, when the country’s Health Department Secretary, Francisco Duque III, announced that the government would be launching a pilot vaccination program on minors.

As of the publication of this article, only Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are the only vaccines allowed to be given to minors as the country’s Food and Drug Administration only approved the use of these two vaccines on children.

Children infected with HIV, Tuberculosis, metabolic or endocrine diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, and cardiovascular diseases are eligible for vaccination under the pilot program. Children who have long-term dependence on technical support, genetic conditions, neurologic conditions, and those who are immunocompromised are also eligible for the vaccine.