ILOILO City – Around 4,500 minors in this southern city have so far pre-registered for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination.
“Diutay pa lang… Amo ‘na naga-campaign gid ako,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas.
Treñas said the city is ready to vaccinate minors aged 12 to 17 years old by October, once they secure the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
“We will open two vaccination sites,” the mayor said. “Tinguha-an man naton nga protektahan ang aton mga kabataan.”
The city has enough anti-COVID vaccines for the kids, according to Treñas.
The city started pre-registering children last month.
The children can register with their parents and guardians through their barangays or various registration sites in malls and plazas.
“Cases in the metro are increasing but children are yet to be vaccinated,” said Treñas.
The Food and Drug Administration has given an Emergency Use Authorization to Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for children aged 12 years old and above.
Meanwhile, Department of Health Region 6 spokesperson, Dr. Daphynie Teorima said the decision of the government on whether to allow the vaccination of minors would be based on studies.
“We don’t have further data regarding this. Ang iya lang ‘ni nga implications as of the moment relatively safe sia for the age group,” said Teorima.
For now, the priorities for vaccination are healthcare workers, senior citizens, adults with comorbidities, and economic frontliners.
The national government earlier considered inoculating minors, with National Inter-Agency Task Force chairman and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez saying it may begin by end of this month or October depending on supplies and go-signal from experts./PN
