More than 50,000 children aged five to 11 have received Covid-19 vaccines, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Saturday.

In a “Laging Handa” briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said 52,262 children from the age group had been vaccinated.

Of the total, only four experienced “minor” adverse reactions, Vergeire said.

“Mayroon pong nagpantal, mayroon hong sumakit ang ulo at ito naman po ay agad po nating na-manage at nakauwi naman po ang ating mga kabataan,” she said.

The Philippines launched its Covid-19 vaccination program for kids aged five to 11 in select areas on Feb. 7.

The rollout is expected to be expanded nationwide by next week.

Reformulated Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are being used to inoculate the five to 11 year-olds.

The government has been eyeing to expand vaccination to younger age groups to help the country achieve herd immunity. John Ezekiel J. Hirro