Apart from intensifying its vaccination drive, the Quezon City government is preparing for the pediatric vaccination of minors aged 5 to 11 years-old scheduled for implementation in February.
This follows the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the Emergency Use Authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be used for the younger age group.
Dr. Maria Lourdes Eleria, coordinator of Quezon City Task Force Vax to Normal, said the city government is closely working with barangays and both public and private schools in the city to consolidate a master list of all children residing in the city who are 5 to 11 years-old.
“We are now synchronizing the list of children enrolled in our schools and those included in the census of our barangays so we can identify the number of children eligible for this round of pediatric vaccinations,” Dr. Eleria said.
However, she clarified that the National Task Force Against COVID-19 and the Department of Health have yet to issue additional guidelines to aid the city towards properly implementing the vaccination program.
“We need to abide by the guidelines of the national government especially concerning issues such as the amount of doses, requirements pertaining to eligible vaccination sites, protocols in administering the vaccines, and other special instructions for the safe implementation of the vaccine program for this younger population,” Dr. Eleria said.
Mayor Joy Belmonte said the city government is anticipating this pediatric vaccination rollout, given the high number of younger individuals recently infected with the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
“Finally, our younger children will be given the opportunity to receive the protection they so badly need in order to experience some kind of normalcy in their lives after having been cooped up for so long inside their houses to prevent the risk of infection,” she said.
“The pedia vaccines for 5- to 11-year-olds will ensure that they will no longer suffer the side effects of prolonged immobility such as mental health problems, and can spend time with their parents and older siblings in recreational environments, as well as eventually go back to face to face classes,” she added.
The local government is also preparing its online registration system where parents can sign up their children for vaccination at the time and place of their choice. This online registration shall be posted on the website of the QCVaxEasy Portal once available. (QC LGU) -ag
