Nearly 50,000 Pinoy kids caught COVID-19; 1,342 died

MANILA, Philippines — Of the nearly 50,000 Filipino children who contracted COVID-19, there were 1,342 fatalities, the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) reported yesterday.

According to CWC Policy, Planning and Research Division head Normina Mojica, 48,411 children aged 19 and below tested positive for COVID-19 as of February 2021. Of these pediatric cases, 1,342 died.

She added that out of the 48,411 pediatric COVID cases, about 40.2 percent are aged 15-20 years old, 23.8 percent belonged to the 10-14 years old, 17.4 percent are from 5 to 9 years old and 18.5 percent are from 4 years old and below.

The official also noted that 31.4 percent, or one in three minors who contracted COVID-19, was living below the poverty line.

“Filipino children are vulnerable to issues such as mortality, health, education, violence and abuse, forced labor,” Mojica said during the organizational meeting of the House committee on the welfare of children.

She noted that “under a host of environmental issues bigger than they are, children are adversely affected by poverty in many ways.”

The official cited data from the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines, which were based on the records of the Department of Health (DOH).

After this period, DOH records no longer contained pediatric cases of COVID-19 but its vaccination accomplishments.

Vax counseling

To encourage more parents to have their children vaccinated against COVID-19, the DOH yesterday said it would adopt “vaccination counseling” in schools.

“We are always in close coordination with the Department of Education (DepEd), and included in our strategies is encouraging parents to have their kids vaccinated, as well as teachers who remain unvaccinated,” said DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire at a press conference.

She said that these counseling sessions can be conducted one on one, or local officials can take part in convincing parents so their children can get vaccinated.

As to the resumption of face-to-face classes, Vergeire said that they’ve observed that situation in schools is “so far, so good” and that health protocols are being followed. She added that there are very minimal cases of children getting sick since in-person classes started.

Earlier, the DOH said vaccination of students against COVID-19 will not take place inside classrooms and can be held anywhere in the school’s premises, with mobile vaccination also an option.

“Vaccination will continue. The DOH together with DepEd is just clarifying that classrooms will only be used by the students for their classes,” Vergeire said. – Rhodina Villanueva