AS MORE towns and cities in Cebu roll out their vaccination programs for minors, the Visayas Vaccination Operations Center reminds parents to still look out for their children as coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is still very much around.
The Municipality of Consolacion will start giving Covid-19 jabs to minors ages 12-17 years old on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021 at the Second Floor Cinema Lobby of SM Consolacion.
In its official Facebook page, the local government unit urged those who want to be vaccinated to bring a certificate of residency from their barangay and any document that bears the name of the parent and the child such as a birth certificate and baptismal certificate.
In the City of Bogo, the pediatric vaccination started Thursday, Nov. 11, at the City Hall Compound, while those children with comorbidities were routed to the Cebu Provincial Hospital situated in the city.
Meanwhile in the south, the City of Naga started rolling out its vaccines for children last Nov. 3.
According to City Information and Community Relations Officer Ruth Rowena Babdola-Alensonorin, they had been creating a master list for minors since March of this year.
Out of 15,065 minors who were asked if they want to be vaccinated, only 3,255 showed interest.
Babdola-Alensonorin added that the city is conducting house-to-house visitations in order to encourage those children to get vaccinated since their target is to get at least 70 percent of the population to be fully vaccinated.
As of Nov. 10, there were already 2,078 children who received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
With pediatric vaccination still in the early stages, the Visayas Vaccination Operations Center (VVOC) appealed to the public to be mindful of their responsibilities when going out with their unvaccinated children.
VVOC spokesperson Dr. Mary Jean Loreche issued the reminder Thursday, Nov. 11, after noting a significant increase in mobility among the masses that is rivaling pre-pandemic levels.
"The number of our Covid-19 deaths remains low, and we hope and pray that it will remain as is considering that there are so many people going out like there's no pandemic, like Covid-19 is not real,"Loreche said.
The Nov. 11, 2021 Department of Health Central Visayas Covid-19 bulletin showed that 5,932 of 145,182 people who contracted Covid-19 in the region have died, for a case fatality rate (CFR) of 4.08 percent.
For the whole Cebu, 4,887 of 103,909 who got infected with the coronavirus died, for a CFR of 4.7 percent.
"Again, we are encouraging you to be careful, mindful and responsible, especially in bringing out our children who are unvaccinated with us," she added.
Loreche reminded the public of unvaccinated senior citizens inside their houses who would be placed at risk.
"We might be the instruments for them getting sick and even dying from Covid-19," she said.
Since Oct. 20, Cebu has been under Alert Level 2.
Under this alert level, unvaccinated minors are allowed to enter establishments permitted to operate at limited capacity, provided they are accompanied by a fully vaccinated parent or guardian.
Fully vaccinated people over 65 years old are also now permitted to go to such establishments.
Loreche also called on parents and guardians to be understanding and sensitive to anything their children may feel after vaccination now that pediatric vaccination has begun in Cebu.
The vaccination of minors in Central Visayas officially began on Nov. 3, though Cebu City kickstarted its own vaccination with 100 minors with comorbidities on Oct. 29.
The VVOC aims to vaccinate more than 900,000 minors aged 12 to 17 in Central Visayas. (IRT, JOB ,CTL)