Dabawenyo parents may now give their children a dose of love as the City Government of Davao, through the Vaccination Cluster Team of Davao City COVID-19 Task Force, will hold a pilot rollout of the pediatric COVID-19 vaccination on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2022, in four hospitals.
The pediatric vaccination rollout was earlier scheduled on February 7, 2022, but due to the delayed arrival of the reformulated Pfizer vaccines, it had to be rescheduled.
The pilot launch in the National Capital Region (NCR), which was earlier set on February 4, was moved to February 7 instead due to the late arrival of the pediatric vaccines.
Hospitals that committed to conduct the pediatric vaccination include the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), the Davao Doctors Hospital (DDH), the DMSF Hospitals, and the Seamen’s Hospital.
The Vaccination Cluster, during the Davao City COVID-19 Task Force meeting held February 7, reported that the Brokenshire Hospital and the Metro Davao Medical And Research Center (MDMRC) have yet to confirm their participation in the pediatric vaccination rollout.
Davao City COVID-19 Task Force Spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser said the Vaccination Cluster Team met with different hospitals to finalize the details and preparations of the pediatric vaccination rollout.
“This is a special rollout for our kids as special syringes and a special formulation of the vaccine will be used. Most children of this age hadlokan og dagom (fearful of needles), we want the vaccination sites to be as playful, friendly, and less threatening as possible,” Dr. Schlosser said in a Viber interview with the City Information Office (CIO) on Monday afternoon, February 7, 2022.
She said the participating hospitals will spearhead their vaccination sites while the city’s Vaccination Cluster will provide the logistics (syringes and vaccines) needed as allocated by the Department of Health (DOH).
While the dose for the adults and 12-17 vaccines is 0.3ml, the five to 11 population will be given 0.2ml.
The city health official said once there will be glitches during the pilot rollout, the hospitals can address and manage them right there and then.
The 5-11 pediatric population shall be categorized as pediatric A3 with comorbidities and the rest of the pediatric population (without comorbidities).
The Vaccination Cluster Team said that other population groups shall not be vaccinated in designated vaccination sites for 5-11 years old.
Meanwhile, the team also encouraged vaccination sites to establish facilitative mechanisms for persons with special needs, to ensure that beds or cots are in place in the post-vaccination monitoring area to manage possible cases of anxiety-related symptoms, and to have spacious, child-friendly, and well-ventilated site to accommodate the vaccine recipients’ parents and guardians.
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for 5-11 shall preferably be stored in a dedicated vaccine refrigerator or other cold storage equipment.
Dr. Schlosser said parents must register their children through the SafeDavao QR or=DQR (https://profiles.safe-davao.com) as a requirement for pediatric vaccination.
For inquiries on children’s DQR registration, check out the helpline numbers at https://www.facebook.com/davaocitygov/posts/5137600269624787.
She also 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 children to the designated sites for inoculation. CIO