February 21, 2022
THE Cebu City Government has temporarily suspended the vaccination of minors aged five to 11 starting Feb. 21, 2022 due to the lack of supply of Covid-19 vaccines.
This was announced by Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, head of the Cebu City Health Department (CCHD), after about 3,000 minors under that age bracket were vaccinated in the last week.
Ibones said the Department of Health (DOH) 7 gave them 6,000 doses before the vaccination rollout on Feb. 14 at the Abellana Sports Complex and Ayala Center Cebu.
The CCHD head said what they usually do is automatically reserve doses for the second shot after the vaccinees have had their first.
Based on the Cebu City’s Vaccination Operations Center’s records, over 10,000 minors in this age group have registered for the vaccination.
Mayor Michael Rama said he will coordinate with the DOH 7 through Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, chief pathologist and spokesperson of the Visayas Vaccination Operations Center (VVOC), for additional vaccine supply in Cebu City.
DOH 7’s action
The DOH 7 is now contemplating if they could use the stored second doses of vaccines for children aged five to 11, Loreche said during her briefer at the VVOC on Monday, Feb. 21.
As of Feb. 20, data from the VVOC showed that local government units (LGUs) in Metro Cebu have so far vaccinated 8,904 children in this age group for the first dose.
This is 2.19 percent of the 406,395 projected population to vaccinate in Metro Cebu.
Of the number, Cebu City had the highest number among the nine LGUs with 2,520 children vaccinated or 1.09 percent of its 230,497 projected population of children aged five to 11.
Meanwhile, the cities of Talisay and Naga have vaccinated 1,080 and 770 children, respectively.
Loreche said: “For now, all Metro Cebu LGUs have enough doses for their 5 to 11 based on the submitted inventory. We are waiting for national to allow us to use the second doses as first doses as they will also compute the possible days of delivery/ arrival of the vaccines.”
Meanwhile, the Danao City government is scheduled to launch its Covid-19 vaccination for the pediatric group on Feb. 23.
Those who wish to register can go to the City Information Office at the Danao City Hall from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Monday to Friday.
Walk-ins for minors aged 12 to 17, as well as adults are allowed. Among the vaccination sites in the city are the Danao Civic Center and the Colegio de San Antonio de Padua-Sands Campus.
Adults just have to bring their valid ID, while minors need to bring their birth certificate, valid ID or barangay certificate. (MKG, ANV, PPC / CCP)