Philippines approves Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine for adolescents

Bangkok, Sep 3 (EFE).- The Philippines has approved the emergency use of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine for minors between 12 and 17 after verifying it is safe for this age group, authorities said Friday.

“After a thorough evaluation by our vaccine experts and our regulatory experts in FDA, we approved this Friday the use under EUA of the Moderna vaccine for adolescents aged 12 to 17,” Director General Eric Domingo of the Food and Drug Administration said during the daily Laging Handa Covid-19 public briefing.

Domingo added that the threat posed by the more infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus has been the key factor in the approval since the benefits of using it in adolescents outweigh the possible risks to their health.

Since the launch of the vaccination campaign on Mar. 1, 17.53 percent of the country’s population has received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine while 12.51 percent have been fully vaccinated.

Many Filipinos are reluctant to get vaccinated after a major controversy in 2016 over a dengue vaccine promoted by the government among children and later found to increase the risk of severe symptoms in patients who had not contracted the disease in the past.

Since the start of the pandemic, the Philippines has recorded more than two million Covid-19 cases and 33,533 deaths.

In recent weeks, it has been trying to contain a strong outbreak linked to the Delta variant. EFE

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