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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expressed belief that the vaccination of children below 12 years old may start before the end of the year.

"I am pretty sure Pfizer is to be ready and Sinovac also told us that their data is being collated and will be submitted soon. I believe before the end of the year, we are going to have vaccines for children below 12," FDA Director General Eric Domingo said in a virtual Palace briefing on Tuesday.

"The 5 to 12-year-old vaccines, I think by Pfizer, we hope that they will be sending in their application for an emergency use authorization (EUA) very soon. They already asked for the list of requirements and they told us that they are completing the requirements," he said.

"I think there is just some difference in the formulation of the vaccine for children. So, it’s like a new EUA, because there is a new innovation in the product," he added.

Domingo said based on the latest data, pediatric vaccinations have reached half a million with very low adverse events monitored.

"The last data I saw was about two weeks ago. We already have about 500,000 pediatric vaccinations both with Pfizer mostly and then some with Moderna, and the adverse event monitoring is very, very low, less than 1 percent and they are mild," he said.

"I think the most severe was allergies and there was a child that hyperventilated. So, so far, so good and we are still continuing with that. But like I said, it’s only until 12 years old and above," he added. Robina Asido/DMS