Philippines to begin vaccinating children against COVID-19 from October

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has urged the public to get immunized, specifically Filipinos residing in areas with plentiful supplies of COVID-19 vaccine. (File/Reuters)

• Health authorities to widen program to include 12-17 year olds, general public to reach herd immunity, government says

MANILA: The Philippines said on Tuesday it will expand its COVID-19 vaccination program to include the general public and children aged 12-17 years old for the first time from October to achieve herd immunity and gradually return to normal life.
The Southeast Asian nation of 110 million people has reported one of the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Asia since the pandemic began last year, prompting authorities to impose strict anti-virus measures in the worst-affected areas and relax curbs in other parts to spur economic activity.
Still, vaccination measures have been slow, with only 20.3 million or 26 percent fully vaccinated and 23.6 million receiving their first dose since March when the government launched its vaccination drive for five priority groups, including health workers, senior citizens, those with comorbidities, economic frontliners, and indigents.
"The good news is, the president has approved the vaccination of the general population beginning October," President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesperson, Harry Roque, said in a press briefing.
"We will also start inoculating children (between 12 to 17 years of age) ...in October. This has also been approved by the president," he added, urging parents to register their children for the vaccination.
Malacañang's announcement comes a day after Duterte threatened to invoke police power of the state on those who refused to get vaccinated.
In a recorded address aired on Monday night, Duterte implored the public to get immunised, specifically Filipinos residing in areas with ample COVID-19 vaccine shots.
“Government has no power to compel any religion, faith, or church...We can only cooperate. But the police power of the state can be invoked if you pose a threat to others... (because) then you are already a danger to society,” he said.
Duterte further explained that once the Philippines had achieved herd immunity through mass immunization, it would be "safe to gradually ease restrictions."
“I now encourage you — those who have yet to receive the vaccines — to get inoculated...We are almost pleading down on our knees," he said.
The Philippines leader warned government employees to leave their office if they refuse vaccination, especially those at the frontline or tasked with interacting with people.
Citing a report from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Duterte said that unvaccinated persons who got infected with COVID-19 are likely to get hospitalized with more severe or critical conditions compared to those who were already inoculated.
Meanwhile, Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL),  said on Tuesday that whether or not the president could implement police power to compel those who refuse to get vaccinated was a "tricky, debatable and complicated" matter.
"As a general rule, the State can invoke police power for the protection of life, public health and for the public interest. But there are loose ends that need to be tied up. These include questions of liberty, necessity, privacy, proportionality, coverage, parameters and even sanctions of specific measures to make it compulsory or mandatory," he told Arab News.
"Yet resort to the use of police power under the circumstances in the country dodges or ignores questions on availability and access to the vaccines as well as to the who, when and where," he added.
Olalia said the move also "glosses over the fact that all measures or responses of the government thus far have been confused and confusing."
Meanwhile, in his report to the president, National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. said that the Philippines was expecting the delivery of COVID-19 jabs to reach 100 million by October end.
Galvez added that economic centers such as Metro Manila, Baguio City, Cebu City, Iloilo City, and Davao City had surpassed the 50 percent vaccination targets in their areas.
Locals, for their part, elicited mixed reactions to the government's move.
One parent who asked not to be named, said "it would be better if vaccination against COVID-19 is compulsory but not coercive", just as it is in the case of other vaccines.
Mariel San Diego, a fully vaccinated government employee based in Luzon island's Pampanga province, said it would be better for the president to allow local government units to act on the matter. "Or if he really wants to do it, maybe he should start in his home city, Davao," San Diego told Arab News.
Others said individuals should be allowed to exercise their choices.
"The virus does not come from the unvaccinated. Both vaccinated, and unvaccinated can be carriers or transmitters. My choice of not getting the vaccine is from my family's history of allergic reactions. I could die with just a shot," Virginia Pasalo, a resident of Pangasinan province, said.
"These vaccines also lack clinical trials. I will wait for other medications to be available," she added.