Vaccination for 12-17 years old begins Friday
TACLOBAN CITY- As the vaccination among 12 to 17 years olds started on Friday (Nov.5), Mayor Alfred Romualdez issued anew an appeal for the non-vaccinated residents to get the jabs against coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Mayor Romualdez admitted that he still finds the number of vaccinated in the city a little bit lower reason why he is pushing that those who have yet to receive the vaccine to visit the different vaccination sites in the city.
The city mayor was seen visiting the vaccination centers in the city like the Tacloban City Convention Center, the shopping malls, and recently at the city public terminal to see for himself the progress of the vaccination campaign.
“We have more than enough supplies of vaccines. I am appealing, encouraging everyone to get vaccinated…for us to achieve herd immunity and in the process, open our city, our economy,” Mayor Romualdez said.
He also warned that the vaccines supply of Tacloban may be distributed to other areas if the city will continue to register low vaccination rate.
Mayor Romualdez, however, remain hopeful that if Tacloban will attain its targeted immunity population early, the residents may enjoy a Merry Christmas.
“I know our people are already tired of these restrictions. But once we get the herd immunity, we can lift all these restrictions,” Romualdez said.
As of Wednesday, 92,901 Taclobanons have received their first dose of which 78,680 of them are considered fully vaccinated.
The number of vaccinated people is still far cry from the targeted 185,000 people for Tacloban to achieve herd immunity from the virus.
On Friday, the city has started its vaccination campaign for 12 to 17 years of age.
Dr. Gloria Fabrigas, city health officer, said that they are targeting 26,563 of this age group.
The vaccination will cover both those with comorbidities and the rest of the pediatric population (ROPT).
For the first rollout of the pediatric vaccination, 1,240 slots will be available at the Tacloban Convention Center while 167 slots at the Tacloban City Hospital and 168 at the City Health Office.
Fabrigas said that those who will avail the vaccination targeting the young population need to present their birth certificate to determine if they really belong to the 12 to 17 age bracket; consent for the parents or guardians and assent for teeners who will be inoculated; and medical certificate for those who are suffering with illnesses.
“There will be no walk-ins they have to register in our safe city (application),” she said.
The city health officer said that out of the more than 6,000 COVID-19 cases of the city since the pandemic started more than a year ago, three percent of it involved this age group.
Mayor Romualdez, meantime, suggested that if the companions of these children are not yet vaccinated, they could get the shots.
He added that if all the younger population of the city will get the vaccine, schools could now conduct face-to-face classes.
While Romualdez noted that COVID-19 cases of the city is now on a drop, he reminded his constituents to continue to observe the mandatory health protocols like the wearing of face mask and face shield and social distancing.
Currently, Tacloban has 109 active cases of COVID-19.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
