Bacolod City will start vaccinating minors with comorbidities against COVID-19 on November 5.
These minors are those who belong to the “Pediatric A3” priority group, or persons aged 12 to 17 years old and have comorbidities.
“We have waited long for the vaccination of minors. The Department of Health (DOH) has given its green light for ‘Pediatric A3,’ and we are more than ready to officially start the rollout and get them vaccinated against COVID-19,” the Emergency Operations Center- Task Force (EOC-TF) said in a statement.
The EOC-TF added that the vaccination of minors is part of the protection of “high-risk or vulnerable groups.”
According to the DOH, the Pediatric A3 vaccination will focus on minors whose comorbidities include HIV, cancer, and tuberculosis, among others.
Minors who have down syndrome are also qualified to get inoculated under this category.
Only Moderna or Pfizer vaccines will be administered to these minors, the DOH added.
“We are now master listing 12 to 17-year-old kids in preparation for the rollout of vaccines for Pediatric A3 on November 5,” said EOC executive director Em Ang.
Parents of minors under the Pediatric A3 group may register their children through the following link: https://tinyurl.com/bcdceirminors
Meanwhile, the DOH is advising minors who do not belong to the Pediatric A3 group to continue following COVID-19 health protocols, like wearing of face masks, social distancing, and hand hygiene.
EOC Deputy for Medical Dr. Chris Sorongon said that the city government aims to vaccinate more than 100,000 minors aged 12 to 17 years old.
“The EOC had coordinated with public and private schools for the master listing of our minor population aged 12 to 17,” Sorongon added.
Bacolod City continues its round-the-clock vaccination, allowing walk-in for all the adult population willing to get vaccinated.
As of October 16, the city government already inoculated 213, 828 out of the 422,000 target adult vaccinees, or about 50 percent of its adult population (aged 18 years old and above).*
