FILE PHOTO: Vials of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca are pictured at St. Mary’s Hospital, in Phoenix Park in Dublin, Ireland, February 14, 2021. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City is planning to create a separate registration site for adolescents who will be qualified to receive free COVID-19 vaccines from the government.
Local officials here welcomed the decision of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to grant US pharmaceutical firm Moderna emergency use for its COVID-19 shots to young adults age 12 to 17 years old.
Acting Mayor Michael Rama on Monday, September 6, said they were planning to open a new online registration portal solely for children within such age group.
“Ilahi ang pagbuhat og lista ang mga 12 to 17 years old. Let’s not – don’t mix them with the existing masterlist. Another one will be put in place,” said Rama.
(We will separate making the list for the 12 to 17 years old. Let’s not – don’t mix them with the existing masterlist. Another one will be put in place.)
Moderna is the second COVID-19 vaccine brand the Philippine government has granted with Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to inoculate young adults.
Pfizer, also a US-based drug maker, was also allowed for children 12 to 15 years old.
In response to these developments, the Visayas Vaccination Operation Center (VVOC) urged local governments in Cebu to start masterlisting children who might be qualified to receive the shots.
But in the meantime, Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, City Health Officer, said they would have to formulate guidelines before they could start accommodating adolescents.
“Even if we are yet to formally release the guidelines, we are ready to inoculate our young adults as long as the supply of vaccines is there,” Ibones said in Cebuano.
Herd Immunity
Cebu City is a priority area in the government’s COVID-19 vaccination drive.
With a population of over 960,000, it aims to fully inoculate at least 700,000 individuals before the year ends.
And Ibones said they would remain confident in achieving this goal.
As of September 5, Cebu City reported having administered a total of 352,334 COVID-19 vaccines.
Of this number, 135,480 happened to be second doses which are equivalent to the number of people considered fully vaccinated against the infection.
This also translates to an immunization coverage rate of around 14 percent.
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