The government may have to procure fresh batches of Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer to inoculate children from 5 to 11 years old, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
During the public address of President Duterte on Monday, FDA Director General Enrique “Eric” Domingo disclosed the current government inventory of Pfizer vaccine is not suited for children in the said age group.
He noted that Pfizer vaccines used for those below 12 years old makes use of lower concentration of active ingredient—messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)—compared to that being given to adults.
“So if we will buy [vaccine] for those 5 to 11 [years old], it’s going to be a different Pfizer vaccine than the ones that we are using now for adults,” Domingo said.
He issued the statement after Pfizer had applied with FDA to amend the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) so its Covid-19 vaccine can be locally used for children in the said age group.
In a virtual briefing on Tuesday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire said the Department of Health (DOH) has allocated funds in the 2022 national budget for the purchase of the vaccines, which makes use of a different formulation for children below 11 years old.
However, she noted there are Covid-19 vaccine brands, which can be administered to adults as well as children in the same age group, but with a lower dose.
“This means both the vaccines [for adults and minors] will be the same and we don’t have to buy new vaccines,” Vergeire said.
Currently, government vaccination efforts for minors are limited to those in the 12 to 17 age group.
Based on the latest government data, a total of seven million minors already got their first dose of Covid-19 jab. Of which, 2.1 million also got their second dose and are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
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