By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) COVID-19 testing czar Secretary Vivencio Dizon announced yesterday that the launching of the COVID-19 vaccination for children aged five to 11 years old has been moved to Monday, February 7.
The launching of the vaccination program was supposed to be scheduled today and tomorrow, February 5.
During a press conference following the launch of the “Resbakuna sa Botika” at the Mercury Drug Store inside the Ayala Malls Capitol Central in Bacolod City, Dizon explained that he and Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque received an email from logistics company DHL.
DHL is responsible for the transport of COVID-19 vaccines from abroad to the Philippines.
According to Dizon, DHL explained to them that they have to reschedule the delivery of the 760,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines which would be used for the inoculation of children.
He said the shipment was supposed to arrive at 9:40 p.m. yesterday in Manila from Hong Kong. The shipment will instead arrive tonight.
The logistics company explained to Dizon and Duque that the rescheduling was due to unforeseen logistical problems.
Meanwhile, in Negros Occidental, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said the schedule for the children’s vaccination will be on February 14.
According to Diaz, they were able to quickly organize the schedule after receiving numerous requests and queries from parents who want to have their children vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only COVID-19 vaccine that was able to secure an emergency use authorization for children aged five to 11 years old in the Philippines./DGB, WDJ