The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 12 to 17 who have comorbidities will start on Friday at the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital in Tagbilaran City on Friday.

Some 30 children who are considered to be part of the “pediatric A3” age group will comprise the first batch of vaccine recipients among minors in the province.  

According to Tagbilaran City Health Office (CHO) spokesperson Ruben Culpa, they will use Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to inoculate the children.

So far, the country’s drug regulators have granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to only the two vaccine brands for the inoculation of children aged 12 to 17 years old.

“Initially na gi-allocate gyud nato is ang Moderna pero naa man pud tay mga available na stock sa Pfizer so pwede ning duha gamiton,” said Culpa.

The vaccine recipients will also get two doses each in a span of at least three weeks.

According to Culpa, they will likely proceed with the inoculation of children in the general population after the vaccination of those with comorbidities.

“Most probably mo adto na ta sa mga assigned na vaccination sites it could be sa Bool Elementary School covered court, City Central School, Dao Elementary School ug atoang Tagbilaran City College didto ta magbakuna sa mga well na kabatan-onan nato,” he said.

The CHO is expecting larger crowds for the pediatric vaccinations considering that they need to be accompanied by a parent to sign the consent form.

Culpa added that 3,677 children have been listed in the pre-registration for the vaccination campaign as of October 24, 2021.

The health official had earlier noted that the 12-to-17 age bracket makes up “five to six” percent of the province’s total population of over 104,900. (R. Tutas)