MANILA – Doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech (Pfizer) vaccine for those aged five to 11 years old are expected to arrive by January next year.

National Task Force Against Covid-19 Special Adviser Dr. Teodoro Herbosa said while the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the use of the Pfizer vaccine on 5 to 11-year old children has been approved, the actual doses for the age group is still being procured.

“We still have to wait for the actual dose and concentration that has to be procured. So, that will probably come by January,” Herbosa said during the arrival of 871,650 doses of the Pfizer vaccine at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on Thursday.

Herbosa thanked the US government and Pfizer for their continuous delivery of Pfizer vaccine doses in the country, with the latest shipment procured by the Philippine government through the Asian Development Bank.

“Our goal now is to catch up to the target of 54 million fully vaccinated. We are currently at 45 million fully vaccinated. We have six vaccination days left, and hopefully, we can achieve the remaining eight million in the six days,” Herbosa said.

He said vaccination efforts would ramp up in Regions 3 and 4-A (Calabarzon) to make up for delays in areas affected by the recent onslaught of Typhoon Odette.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier issued the EUA for the Pfizer vaccine—noting its high efficacy rate at above 90 percent and “very mild” adverse events in its critical trial.

FDA Director-General Eric Domingo said the concentration of the Pfizer vaccine for five to 11-year-old children is lower compared to the adult doses. (PNA)