In Cebu City, no walk-ins allowed for vaccination of minors aged 5-11

By: Delta Dyrecka Letigio - 3 years ago

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City will not allow walk-ins for the vaccination of minors aged 5 to 11 years for now.

The city expects the roll-out to start around February 14, 2022, depending on when the Department of Health (DOH) launches at the Capital Region. It would also depend on when the vaccines arrive here.

Doctor Jeffrey Ibones, the head of the City Health Department (CHD), said that for the sake of the start of the roll-out, they will temporarily not allow walk-ins on the site.

Only the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC), also known as the Abellana Sports Complex, will host the vaccination for the said age group.

The city decided to only allow registered minors to be accommodated since this is the first time the vaccination for younger minors will be conducted.

The parents need to register their children at the Pabakunata.com website and they will get a text message for their schedule.

“Maghulat lang gyod sila sa text kay dili pa sad nato kaya magpa walk-in labi na nga mga gagmayng bata pa ra ba ni nya dalhunon pa kaayo,” said Ibones.

(They just have to wait for the text message because we can’t accommodate walk-ins especially since these are young kids who need to be attended to.)

Hospital vaccination

For minors aged 5 to 11 years old with comorbidities, the city will be holding their vaccinations at hospitals since it is crucial that they have available immediate medical care.

Children who have asthma, cancer, genetic illnesses, rheumatoid heart diseases, or are born with medical conditions will need much more delicate management of their vaccination.

This is why after talks with the Philippine Pediatric Society in Cebu over the concerns for comorbid children, Ibones said they have decided to meet with hospital officials here for the possibility of allotting space for the vaccination of minors.

12-17 yo vaccination

Meanwhile, the city allows walk-ins for the sites catering to the vaccination of 12 to 17-year-old minors.

The sites include Robinson Cybergate, SM Seaside, and CCSC. The parents are still encouraged to register their children at the website.

However, they will no longer receive a schedule through text. Instead, the parents can bring their children to the sites anytime as long as they also bring identification cards and other requirements.

So far, the city has inoculated 45,000 minors for first dose and 21,000 for second dose. At least 70,000 have registered for the vaccination program.

The city is targetting to vaccinate 100,000 minors aged 12 to 17 years old.