Video from PTV

MANILA—The Philippines is set to start its COVID-19 vaccination for children ages 5 to 11 on February 4, as government continued to expand its inoculation rollout.

• READ: How parents can prepare kids for COVID-19 vaccination

On Saturday, Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said there would be no separate vaccination for children who have health risks but they must show a medical certificate clearing them for immunization.

"Hindi kagaya noong 12 to 17 na nauna ang may comorbidity, gusto natin na mabilis ang bakunahan, kaya pagsasabayin natin ang pagbabakuna ng may comorbidity at mga walang comorbidity," Cabotaje explained in a televised public briefing.

There are 32 sites in Metro Manila for the rollout, Cabotaje said, with each locality having 1 to 3 vaccination areas. This could be schools, parks, and hospitals. ​

• READ: Initial vaccine rollout for 5-11 age group in NCR on Feb. 4-5 to be held in 24 sites

Calabarzon and Central Luzon will also have at least 2 hospitals for their inoculation rollout from February 7, she added.

Here are the following reminders for parents or guardians for the inoculation rollout next week:

• Bring the child's birth certificate or any document proving the person accompanying the child is a guardian or parent.
• If a child does not have a birth certificate or ID, a witness form signed by the barangay center proving affiliation will be required.
• Children ages 7 to 11 will be given consent forms
• The interval for the second dose will be 21 days
• Children will be immunized using a specific formulation of Pfizer. The FDA earlier said the dosage for children is 10 micrograms.

• READ: FDA approves Pfizer COVID jab for kids age 5 and above

For the full guidelines, you may read the document here:

There are some 13.5 million children aged 5 to 11 in the country, according to the Department of Health.

As of Wednesday, the Philippines already partially vaccinated at least 60.2 million individuals, while more than 58.4 million are already fully immunized.

More than 7 million, meanwhile, already received their boosters.