The Pateros municipal government will soon start the registration of 12 to 17 years old for COVID-19 vaccination.
This, after the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of the Moderna vaccine for the age group.
Moderna filed with the FDA an amendment to its approved emergency use authority (EUA) issued in May, which originally allowed the use of the vaccine for 18 years old and above.
FDA Director General Eric Domingo said last Sept. 3 that the FDA approved the use of Moderna for 12 to 17 years old.
In a live broadcast on Facebook on Monday, Pateros Mayor Miguel “Ike” Ponce III said, “maybe in the next few days, we will start the vaccination of 12 to 17 years old.”
“We will do this once the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine becomes available, which we can give to them,” he said.
The mayor said a new QR code for registration will be used exclusively for 12 to 17 years old who are Pateros residents. Once registered, they need to wait for the text message that will indicate their schedule of vaccination.
He said the vaccination of 12 to 17 years old will be dependent on the availability of vaccines. As a rule, parents will be required to accompany their children to the vaccination centers.
Ponce added that parents need to sign a consent allowing their children to get vaccinated to ensure that they know that their children will get the jab and that they approve of it.
Pateros surpassed 100 percent of the target population of 56,000 for the first dose and achieved 70 percent, or about 39,200 individuals, for the second dose as of Aug. 30.
The Pateros municipal government increased its target population from 70 percent, or 49,000, to 80 percent, or 56,000, out of the estimated total population of 70,000.