Iloilo City is hoping to inoculate more minors aged 12-17 years old as it extends the vaccination against COVID-19 on weekends.
In a schedule posted via official Facebook page of Iloilo City Government, there will be pediatric vaccination at SM City, Robinsons Place Jaro, and Megaworld Transport Hub this Saturday and Sunday, November 13-14, 2021. This is open for minors who are city residents, and non-city residents who go to Iloilo City schools.
The city vaccination team will use Pfizer vaccine, which is approved for emergency use by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for that age group. Vaccination will start at 8AM until supplies last.
Mayor Jerry Treñas said that as of November 11, a total of 20,092 minors were done with their first dose of vaccination and the implementation running smoothly.
“Our vax rollout is doing very well,” Treñas stressed, adding that Iloilo City mega-vaccination sites recording 15,000 minors getting jabs in a week.
“We are targeting 50,000 minors 12 to 17 years old to be vaccinated in the month of November. We need to ramp up vaccination so that we can do booster shots and vaccinate minors 5 to 11 years old when allowed by the national government,” Treñas said.
The city’s top executive revealed that he got a citation through text message from no less than Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año.
“That’s great, Mayor Jerry. And congrats for your very high vaccination rate! Iloilo City is a model,” Año said.
In an interview with Philippine News Agency, Iloilo City COVID team spokesperson Jeck Conlu said that the pediatric vaccination got positive reactions from parents and minors themselves.
“So far we have a good turnout. Overall, the vaccination for minors got a positive response from the public,” Conlu said.
He said the excitement could be seen on the faces of the children as they probably wanted to return to their normal activities.
“There are some who got nervous but they were just allowed to rest for a while,” he added.
Pre-registration
Iloilo City Government advised that parents or authorized guardians should pre-register minors 12-17 to avoid long lines during vaccination day.
Parent or guardian with authorization letter should bring the birth certificate of minor, original copy from Local Civil Registrar (LCR) or Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) formerly NSO.
Pre-registration booths are at SM City Lower Ground Flr., North Wing, fronting Cafe Iloilo and Festive Mall, 3rd Floor, Cyber Area.
Vax tech team has pre-registered 26,628 minors so far.
City Hall has also included non-resident minors studying in the metropolis and whose parents are working here. (via Iloilo City PIO, PNA)
