ILOILO – Third District congressman and House deputy majority leader Lorenz Defensor urged the Department of Health (DOH) to expedite the rollout of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine among children below five years old.
At the House Committee on Appropriations’ hearing for the proposed 2023 budget of the DOH on Monday, Sept. 12, Defensor requested DOH officer-in-charge (OIC) Maria Rosario Vergeire to hasten formulating a policy for inoculating children below five years old as health protocols were gradually relaxed, specifically with the voluntary wearing of facemasks outdoors.
He explained that as protocols ease, unvaccinated children will be more exposed to infections.
“Problema ina kay samtang nagahalog ang aton health protocols, ang aton mga kabataan exposed, open na ang pre-schools, ang mga nursery, open na ang malls, nagagwa na ang tanan,” said Defensor in an interview with Panay News yesterday morning.
He lamented the expiration of over 20 million expired vaccines (as of Aug. 12, 2022) worth P13 billion.
For the congressman, the funds for the excess and expired vaccines could have been used for other projects and programs.
He added that vaccine brands Pfizer and Moderna are currently being rolled out by the United States.
“They are already using this vaccines for children’s six months and above. Ngaa kita mismo nga nakigamit and nagabakal lang kita, ngaa indi naton mahimu para sa aton kabataan. So, crucial ini katam-an samtang nagahalog na ang aton health protocols,” stated Defensor.
He also highlighted figures showing that two percent or 93,000 of COVID-19 cases are composed of children below five years old.
The congressman does not want a spike of these numbers only because the inoculation among the said age range has not started yet in the country.
“I don’t want that to increase. I want the parents to have the choice to have their children vaccinated kon available na,” he added.
Once the DOH started the vaccine rollout, however, it would still be voluntary, explained Defensor. Parents, like him who has a below five-year-old daughter, are given the choice. Furthermore, vaccinated or not, kids are allowed in schools, malls, and other public spaces so parents should not be worried if they opt not to have their kids inoculated.
Meanwhile, during the committee hearing, Defensor said that the DOH OIC admitted they have not yet formulated a policy regarding the matter but Vergeire assured they will act promptly on it as they understood the urgency, especially with the resumption of face-to-face classes even in the pre-school and nursery.
As of now, only children aged five and above are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination — in doses of reduced concentration to ensure their safety.
The vaccination of eligible children started last Jan. 2022, but the government has not followed up since then on when children below five years old would receive their anti-COVID shots./PN
