February 21, 2022
THE Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH 7) is contemplating if they could use the stored second doses of vaccines for children ages five to 11 years old.
This was what Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, DOH 7 chief pathologist and spokesperson of the Visayas Vaccination Operations Center (VVOC), said in response to questions if they still have available Pfizer vaccines for the vaccination rollout of this age group.
“We will have an announcement if we can use the set aside or stored second doses to be used as a first dose for five to 11 for continuance of our vaccination,” she said during her briefer at the VVOC on Monday, February 21, 2022.
Later, in an interview with SunStar Cebu, Loreche said the nine local government units (LGUs) within Metro Cebu have enough doses for their 5-11 pediatric population.
“We are waiting for the National Government to allow us to use the second dose as first doses,” she said.
Vaxxed children
As of February 20, data from the VVOC showed that the nine LGUs have so far vaccinated 8,904 children aged five to 11 years old for the first dose.
This is 2.19 percent of the LGUs’ combined 406,395 projected population for vaccination.
Of the number, Cebu City was the highest among the nine LGUs with 2,520 children vaccinated, a number constituting 1.09 percent of its 230,497 projected population.
The two other highly urbanized cities, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, have so far vaccinated 1,438 and 1,500 children, respectively.
Mandaue City vaccinated 8.85 percent of its 16,329 target, while Lapu-Lapu City jabbed 2.37 percent of its 63,173 target children to vaccinate.
Meanwhile, the cities of Talisay and Naga vaccinated 1,080 and 770 children, respectively.
Talisay City had a vaccination rate of 7.20 percent out of its 15,000 projected population while the City of Naga had 5.5 percent rate out of its 13,900 target.
Inoculation in towns
On the other hand, the towns of Consolacion, Minglanilla, and Liloan, were able to vaccinate 680, 670, and 306, respectively.
Consolacion had a vaccination rate of 3.58 percent out of its 18,977 projected population.
Minglanilla vaccinated 3.28 percent of its 20,454 children while Liloan jabbed 2.10 percent of its 14,580 target 5-11 pediatric population.
Cordova town has yet to start its vaccination rollout for the age group.
Loreche earlier said 26,000 doses were allocated for Cebu Province; 6,000 for Cebu City; 3,000 doses each for the cities of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue; 2,800 for Talisay City; 1,600 for Consolacion; 1,500 each for City of Naga, and towns of Minglanilla and Liloan; 1,000 for Cordova; and 100 doses for the Project Balik Buhay. (MKG)