MANILA (UPDATE) - Government will roll out COVID-19 vaccines for children age 5 to 11 nationwide on Feb. 14, an official said Friday.

Vaccination of said age group will still proceed in Metro Manila and parts of Central Luzon and Calabarzon on Monday, February 7, before the nationwide rollout, the Department of Health earlier said.

• DOH postpones COVID-19 vaccination rollout for children
• COVID-19 vaccination for kids 5-11 to start in 6 sites

Some 780,000 Pfizer jabs for children age 5 to 11 are set to arrive later Friday after a third party logistics partner failed to load it into a plane Thursday, according to Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje, head of the National Vaccination Operations Center.

"They tried all their best to have alternate routes atsaka saan puwede dalhin pero hindi nakaabot. We're sure it’s going to be delivered this afternoon kasi nakasakay na yan kahapon," she said in a televised public briefing.

(They tried all their best to have alternate routes but it did not make it in time. We're sure it’s going to be delivered this afternoon because the vaccines have been loaded into the plane yesterday.)

"It has already left Brussels. It was in Hong Kong, it's going to arrive tonight. Meron na rin kaming allocation per area depende kung ano ang nasubmit nilang immediate registration."

(We also have allocation per area depending on their submitted immediate registration.)

Another batch of some 780,000 doses of Pfizer's vaccine is set to be delivered on Feb. 9, Cabotaje added.

Some 160,000 children, including 100,000 in Metro Manila, have so far registered for vaccination, Cabotaje said.

Those with the following schedule of vaccination have been adjusted accordingly, said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

• Feb. 4 will be moved to Monday, Feb. 7
• Feb. 5 will be moved to Tuesday, Feb. 8
• Feb 7 and Feb 8 will be moved to Wednesday, Feb. 9

The DOH earlier held townhalls where healthcare workers explained to parents that benefits of the vaccine outweigh its risks, Cabotaje said.

• Two parents want local court to stop COVID-19 vaccination of 5- to 11-year-olds

"Marami ring mga magulang na (many parents are) already enlightened and are willing to have their children vaccinated. Sana sila rin magkumbinsi sa mga magulang na ito na ayaw ipabakuna ang kanilang mga anak," she said.

(We hope they also convince other parents who do not want to get their child vaccinated.)

Among 8.7 million children vaccinated against COVID-19 globally, only 1 1have suffered from serious adverse events and have since recovered, according to Vergeire.

"Lahat nakamanage at nakauwi (All were managed and went home) after 2 to 3 days in the hospital," she said.

The DOH has received a copy of the petition of two parents urging a Quezon City court to stop the vaccination of younger children, Vergeire said.

"Kaka-receive lang ho namin ng (We just received the) official petition submitted to our office. Ire-review po atin (We will review) and we will go through the process on this," she said.

Vergeire also urged the public to fact-check articles or social media posts, and verify if it was written by a credible author or expert. Readers must also check the context or date of publication, use a reverse image search, and cross check keywords in news outlets and official government sources.

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