The local government of Quezon City is preparing for the pediatric vaccination of minors aged 5-11 against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which is expected to take place in February.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had earlier granted Emergency Use Authorization to Pfizer BioNTech's vaccine to be used for 5-11-year-old children.
“Finally, our younger children will be given the opportunity to receive the protection they so badly need in order to experience some kind of normalcy in their lives after having been cooped up for so long inside their houses to prevent the risk of infection,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
“The pedia vaccines for 5-11-year-olds will ensure that they will no longer suffer the side effects of prolonged immobility such as mental health problems, and can spend time with their parents and older siblings in recreational environments as well as eventually go back to face-to-face classes,” she added.
“We are now synchronizing the list of children enrolled in our schools and those included in the census of our barangays so we can identify the number of children eligible for this round of pediatric vaccinations,” QC Task Force Vax to Normal Coordinator Dr. Maria Lourdes Eleria said.
It is consolidating a master list of all children aged 5-11 residing in the city.
Eleria clarified that the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF) and the Department of Health (DOH) have yet to issue additional guidelines to aid the city in properly implementing the vaccination program.
“We need to abide by the guidelines of the national government especially concerning issues such as the amount of doses, requirements pertaining to eligible vaccination sites, protocols in administering the vaccines, and other special instructions for the safe implementation of the vaccine program for the younger population,” she said.
The local government is also preparing its online registration system where parents can sign up their children for vaccination at the time and place of their choice.
Read more: NTF eyes rollout of COVID-19 vaccination for kids aged 5 to 11 on Feb. 1 to 7