The Davao City COVID-19 Task Force urged parents to ensure the protection of their children from the coronavirus disease as the Department of Education (DepEd) recently resumed face-to-face (F2F) classes in public schools.
The task force has expressed concern about the low turnout of the pediatric vaccination for five to 11 years old in the city amid the resumption of F2F classes.
Davao City COVID-19 Task Force Spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser, during the COVID-19 Alert program of 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR) on March 23, 2022, said that as of March 18, 2022,
only 3,311 or 1.23 percent have received second doses out of the 11,000 children who got their first jabs.
The 11,000 who had their first doses only make up 4.09 percent of the target 269,000 pediatric five to 11 years old population.
Dr. Schlosser asked parents, “Kung ang inyong five to 11 years old dili bakunado (If your five to 11 years old is unvaccinated), how will you be so sure that they are protected when they have their face-to-face classes)?”
She said the young population age group can’t be guaranteed to wear face masks while in school all the time as they want more interaction when they play and they can’t endure the inconvenience of wearing face masks for a long period.
“The only sure way of protecting this age group is the vaccine. Di man ta ka sure mag-wear sila og mask sulod sa classroom. Parents, please ayaw paabuta na mahitabo na ang face-to-face classes without protecting your children (We can’t be certain that they would wear face masks inside the classroom. Parents, please don’t wait for the face-to-face classes to start without protecting your children),” she said.
She added that parents should take the opportunity to have their children inoculated now while the vaccination hubs are not crowded.
The designated vaccination hubs for five to 11 years old are SM Lanang Premier, SM City Davao, Gaisano Mall Bajada – The Peak, Gaisano Mall Toril, and Holy Cross of Calinan. CIO
