THREE special sites for the pediatric vaccination exclusive for children aged five to 11 will open on Monday, February 21, 2022.
Dr. Michelle Schlosser, spokesperson of the Davao City Covid-19 Task Force, said during a radio interview on Friday, February 18, that Almendras Gym, San Roque Central Elementary School, and Vicente Hizon Elementary School will serve as the special sites that will only cater to the pediatric vaccination of children five to 11 years old.
According to Schlosser, an exclusive vaccination site for the said age group is needed in order to create a kid-friendly atmosphere and avoid medication errors since only specialized 0.2ml dose vaccines are allowed for children.
“Our vaccinators, our frontliners are trained but we cannot take a risk so mas gwapo gyod (it’s better) to make sure that there will be no medication error that will interchange Pfizer 0.2ml and Pfizer 0.3ml for adults,” Schlosser said.
Schlosser also said that additional vaccines are expected to be delivered over the weekend in time for the opening of the special sites.
The pilot run of the pediatric vaccination was held at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) and at the Davao Medical School Foundation (DMSF) but Schlosser said that as of February 18, the Davao Doctors Hospital is accepting pediatric vaccinees.
According to Schlosser, the requirements parents need to prepare to vaccinate their kids are identification cards or birth certificates proving the age of the child, proof of relationship, and pre-registration of the vaccinees on the Safe Davao QR.
Meanwhile, a total of 1,688 children in the said age group were vaccinated in Davao City as of February 18 since the Resbakuna: Kids pediatric vaccination drive started on February 14, 2022.
Schosser said the City Government targets to vaccinate at least 260,000 children.