MANILA, Philippines — Only 36.8 percent of children aged 5 to 11 have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the latest report of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO COVID-19 Situation Report on the Philippines also noted that “physicians have issued a warning that children and adolescents remain susceptible to infection of COVID-19.”
With the ongoing face-to-face classes, physicians have urged parents and parent figures to have their children vaccinated for COVID-19.
“The longer we wait to get our children vaccinated, the higher the chances that we are putting our children’s long-term health at risk. Children who are now back in school are in an environment that increases their risk of getting sick, moreover, increases the possibility of bringing the virus home and infecting the family,” Zuellig Pharma Therapeutics medical director Dr. Philip Nakpil said.
The report said pediatric COVID-19 vaccine such as Moderna mRNA vaccine and other approved COVID-19 vaccines can protect children aged 5-11 years old from the severe effects of COVID-19. These vaccines also aid in protecting the entire family, especially those at risk such as infants, elderly and those with comorbidities.
“Studies have shown that children are more likely to experience milder symptoms or be asymptomatic to COVID-19, which leads to less children and adolescents being tested, resulting in unreported cases. This increases the risk of them infecting other children or bringing the virus home – where it can remain undetected in the child while infecting the household,” Nakpil added.
The report also cited several risk factors for severe COVID-19 in children, including obesity and pre-existing conditions like type 2 diabetes, severe asthma, heart and pulmonary diseases, seizure disorders and other neurologic disorders, neurodevelopment (e.g., Down Syndrome) and neuromuscular conditions and moderate to severe immunocompromising conditions.
Reports coming from the Department of Health (DOH) have also shown that most children who died due to COVID-19 were unvaccinated.
As such, Nakpil urged Filipino parents and guardians to check with their pediatricians and apply for the vaccine through their local government units.
NCR positivity rate
The number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 further decreased in the National Capital Region (NCR), OCTA Research group fellow Guido David said on Tuesday.
David said the region’s seven-day positivity rate dropped from 19.1 percent on Dec. 31 to 5.8 percent on Jan. 7.
Across Luzon, the positivity rates of most provinces monitored by OCTA have also decreased.
David said only Albay and Isabela reported “high” positivity rates of 25.6 percent and 35.1 percent, respectively. These went down from 31.3 percent and 37.6 percent last Dec. 31.
Four provinces that previously had “moderate” positivity rates now have a seven-day average less than five percent: Batangas (from 7.8 percent to 4.9 percent), Bulacan (from 4.4 percent to 3.5 percent), Ilocos Norte (from 5.6 percent to 4.3 percent) and Pangasinan (7.2 percent to 4.3 percent).
Luzon provinces with moderate positivity rates include Camarines Sur (15.2 percent), Nueva Ecija (11.2 percent), Tarlac (11.2 percent), Rizal (10.9 percent), Zambales (8.4 percent), Laguna (7.3 percent), Cagayan (seven percent), Quezon (6.4 percent), Bataan (6.3 percent), Cavite (5.5 percent), La Union (5.5 percent), Pampanga (5.5 percent) and Benguet (5.3 percent).
David on Monday said the nationwide positivity rate has dropped to 5.5 percent, with 183 of the 467 new cases reported logged in NCR.
Meanwhile, the country recorded 473 new COVID-19 infections on Monday with 12,267 total active cases, bringing the nationwide tally to 4,068,054, the DOH said.
At the same time, the DOH noted 3,990,301 recoveries and 65,486 deaths.
Among the top regions with cases in the past two weeks were NCR (2,200) followed by Calabarzon (1,090), Central Luzon (527), Western Visayas (339 cases) and Cagayan Valley (338).
The DOH added that it recorded a total of 32,122,413 individuals who subjected themselves to COVID-19 testing.
Gatherings
The holiday gatherings have yet to result to a surge in COVID-19 cases, according to the DOH.
“As we have reported, we are having plateau in cases nationally. Cases are even declining in some of our regions. The number is not significant for us to say there is an uptick in cases as a result of the holiday season. Though we will continuously monitor,” DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
At the same time, Vergeire expressed hope that a similar trend will be observed following the feast of the Black Nazarene, as they observed that many of the Black Nazarene devotees still wore face masks during the festivities.
“We have to count two weeks for the incubation period before we can see if it had an effect in the number of cases,” she said. “Hopefully, cases won’t surge because of this event. We hope to be able to maintain cases at the minimum just like in recent events we have had, like the May 2022 elections.”
Bivalent vaccines
Vergeire also said that even with the expiration of the state of calamity due to COVID-19, the country can still purchase bivalent vaccines by going through the regular procurement process.
“Based on the law, Republic Act (RA) 11525, it is indicated that if the state of calamity will not be extended, we will need to go through the regular procurement process of government which is under RA 9184,” Vergeire said yesterday.
“With RA 9184, it is competitive bidding but there is a provision there that we can go through negotiated procurement. All of this are being studied by our legal officers so that we will know what would be the most appropriate means of procurement based on the law in the country that we can adopt – one that will not cause delays, or one wherein we can still expedite procurement of these bivalent vaccines,” the health official said. – Janvic Mateo