AROUND 14,000 children ages five to 11 years old have registered before the Mandaue City Government for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccination.

Mandaue City Vaccine Operations Center head Ligaya Lakambini Dargantes said they started the registration following the announcement of the Department of Health (DOH) that the Philippine Pediatric Society and Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines expressed their support for the vaccination of this age group.

Dargantes said they were awaiting the national guidelines on the vaccination for the pediatric population but as of Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, they had already registered about 14,102 children ages five to 11 years old for vaccination.

She said Mandaue City had started the registration of its pediatric population from zero to 17 years old since May 2021.

“We conducted a house-to-house campaign last year to start the registration process and we continued doing it online,” she said in Cebuano.

Mary Jean Loreche, DOH 7 chief pathologist, earlier said children ages five to 11 years old may soon be included in the priorities for vaccination by the end of January or in early February or once the guidelines are out.

The Pfizer vaccine is allowed for children with the two doses to be administered 21 days apart.

Loreche said the preparation for the vaccination will be different as they will not use the vials currently being used for the adult population.

Loreche said children who are infected with Covid-19 may develop a multi-system inflammatory syndrome affecting major organs such as the heart, kidneys, lungs and even the skin.

Hence the need to vaccinate them.

She said children have an increased risk of infection particularly those with comorbidities such as juvenile diabetes and hypertension and cancer.

Loreche said children ages zero to four may be included in the vaccination before the year 2022 ends.