CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- The first dose of vaccination against Covid-19 for five to 11 years old in Northern Mindanao is set to resume, a high ranking official of the Department of Health Region 10 (DOH-10) confirmed on Wednesday, Sept. 21.
The DOH-10 is set to receive 60,000 doses of pediatric vaccines from the national government this week and another 60,000 doses next week, said Dr. Ellenietta Gamolo, the DOH-10 assistant director.
“We just stopped before because there was no supply of vaccines available,” Gamolo said in a text message to Manila Bulletin.
“Since we have upcoming vaccines, we can resume giving the first dose good for 60,000 kids and the next 60,000 doses will be their second doses,” she added.
In the latter part of August this year, the DOH-10 issued an advisory to all local government units (LGU) to use the remaining pediatric vaccines for children waiting for their second doses, deciding the agency to temporarily discontinue the first dose vaccination for the said age group.
Gamolo said the initial 60,000 doses are expected to arrive on Thursday, Sept. 22.
As of the moment, the agency is currently preparing for the number of vaccine doses that would be allocated to the five provinces and two highly urbanized cities in the region.
“We will still have to prorate it because they have requested some doses but the number that will be delivered is not enough for all,” Gamolo said.
The resumption of first dose vaccination for the pediatric group will start after the LGUs receive their allocation. The public is urged to wait for the announcement of their respective LGUs as to the schedule.
On Monday, Sept. 19, the national government received 720,000 doses of Pfizer pediatric vaccines donated by the Australian government through the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
The said shipment brought to three million the total of vaccine doses delivered in the country within this month.
On Sept. 2 this year, the City Health Office (CHO) of Cagayan de Oro temporarily stopped the first dose vaccination for the said pediatric group upon the advisory from DOH-10.
Despite the discontinuation however, the CHO made an initiative to accommodate the parents who would want to submit their children for Covid-19 vaccination.
Dr. Ina Grace Chiu, the National Immunization Program coordinator in CHO, earlier said that they would get the names and contact information of the children who want to be vaccinated for first dose as the city’s Covid-19 vaccination team may accommodate them if children - who are set to receive their second dose - failed to attend their vaccination schedules.
As of September 3, Cagayan de Oro already tallied 30,195 children aged five to 11 years old who were fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, there are 10,846 children in this city who have already received their first doses and are waiting for their second dose vaccination.