The Vaccination Cluster Team of the Davao City COVID-19 Task Force targets to inoculate at least 269,121 children aged five to 11 years old with anti-COVID-19 vaccines under the pilot pediatric vaccination rollout set to start on Monday, February 14, 2022.
Davao City COVID-19 Task Force Spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser, during the COVID-19 Alert program of the 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR) program held on Wednesday, February 9, said: “Ubay-ubay na sya. We wanted to hit katong atong gina achieve nga herd immunity kay hapit na to ma 100 percent. Now we are looking into the total population na 1.8 million. Kung mabakunahan nato ning mga five to 11 years old, dakong chance na ma 100 percent nato ang total population (This population age group is big. We wanted to hit herd immunity, which is nearing 100 percent. Now we are looking into the total population of 1.8 million. If we vaccinate the five to 11 years old, we have a great chance of achieving 100 percent of our total population).”
The Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), the Davao Doctors Hospital (DDH), the DMSF Hospital, and the Seamen’s Hospital have earlier committed to participate in the pilot vaccination rollout of the pediatric five to 11 years old age group while the Brokenshire Hospital and the Metro Davao Medical And Research Center (MDMRC) have yet to confirm their participation.
She said the City Government of Davao plans to put up a separate vaccination site solely for the youngest population age group once the two-week pilot rollout in the hospitals is over.
“Why we need a separate site solely for this age group, first, is for us to secure nga kanang walay mga mistakes og dosage kay iba man gud ang dosage nila ‘no. Although trained ang atoang mga vaccinators, we can’t be too lenient ana to avoid mistakes sa atoang paghatag og dose sa ilaha (Why we need a separate site solely for this age group, first is for us to secure that we don’t make mistakes in administering the dosage since theirs is different from the regular dosage),” Dr. Schlosser said.
The dosage for 12 years old and above is 0.3ml while the five to 11 will be given 0.2ml.
She also said that the Davao City COVID-19 Task Force and the Vaccination Cluster Team underscored the need for non-threatening, friendly, and fun vaccination sites as it is usually a challenge to convince children to get vaccinated.
Having the vaccination hub as friendly and non-threatening as possible, according to her, would make the vaccinators’ jobs easier.
Dr. Schlosser added that the Vaccination Cluster Team is pushing to roll out the vaccination in designated LGU-managed vaccination hubs for the pediatric five to 11 years old age group on February 21, 2022.
The city health official said, “Even if tentative pa sya, we’ll make sure ma-push gyud sya as fast as we can (Even if it’s a tentative date, we’ll make sure we to roll it out as fast as we can).”
The Almendras Gym, the Vicente Hizon Elementary School, and the San Roque Elementary School are the initial venues for the city government’s vaccination rollout for the pediatric population.
Dr. Schlosser, however, said that it would be a challenge for the LGU to roll out the vaccination to this population age group as they are not like adults who can be educated on the importance of the vaccine.
“Sa ilaha, ang ilahang kahadlok lang. We have to address the fear and anxiety sa mga bata more than their lack of education (For the children, fear is the primary factor. We have to address the fear and anxiety of children more than their lack of education),” she said, adding that providing play stuff suitable for children in vaccination hubs will be most helpful.
The 5-11 pediatric population shall be categorized as pediatric A3 with comorbidities and the rest of the pediatric population (without comorbidities).
She reminded parents of children with comorbidities to get a templated medical certificate in the city’s operational vaccination hubs and have them filled up by their pediatricians before bringing their kids to the designated sites for inoculation.
Parents must register their children through the SafeDavao QR or=DQR (https://profiles.safe-davao.com) as a requirement for the pediatric vaccination.
For inquiries on children’s DQR registration, check out these helpline numbers at https://www.facebook.com/davaocitygov/posts/5137600269624787.
CIO