THE CITY COVID-19 Task Force reiterated its call to get children vaccinated as one of the two deaths recorded from May 29 to June 4 is an unvaccinated patient who belonged to the vulnerable five to 11 years old population group.
“Parents should be alarmed kay ang isa ka death is bata nga less than 12 years old nga unvaccinated. Ang isa nga namatay kay naa sa 50 to 59 age group nga unvaccinated gihapon
(Parents should be alarmed since one death is that of a child less than 12 years old and unvaccinated. The other one who died is from the 50 to 59 age group),” Davao City COVID-19 Task Force spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser said during her Davao City Disaster Radio program on Wednesday, June 8.
She said not all COVID-19-related deaths were from the elderly population group as the coronavirus could infect any age group and its severity varies from one person to another.
Dr. Schlosser said, “Gina-awhag nato ang mga parents kay this age group dili sila ang mu-decide kundi mga parents man. Kung naa ta’y apprehension ug kakulba, make yourself aware of the benefit and safety of the COVID-19 vaccine. Look for a platform nga ma-educate mo, not enough ang social media. Find and search for a reliable source like the Center for Disease Control ug WHO para makakuha mo og accurate information ug klaro (We urge the parents since this age group does not get to decide but them. If you still have apprehension or fear, make yourself aware of the benefits and safety of the COVID-19 vaccine. Look for a platform to educate you but don’t rely on social media. Find and search a reliable source like the Center for Disease Control or the World Health Organization to get accurate and clear information).”
Children aged five to 11, according to her, are prone to contracting the virus as they are the ones not keen on wearing face masks all the time and most of them don’t even understand why they need to do so.
And if they do wear face masks, it will only be for a short time, and would often complain of discomfort. When malls opened to the general public, she said seeing children run around without their face masks was a cause for alarm and remains a great concern today.
“If we can’t protect them sa transmission, protect them against the severity of the disease through vaccination. I’m afraid na mubalik na ang face-to-face classes nga wala’y layer of protection ang mga bata kay dili biya gyud 100 percent ang mapa-wear og face masks. Dili assurance nga di ka matakdan kung magpabakuna, ang assurance is dili ka mamatay kung matakdan ka (I’m afraid that full face-to-face classes will resume and the children don’t have a layer of protection because not 100 percent of the children will wear face masks. It’s not an assurance that you won’t get infected but it’s an assurance that you won’t die if you get infected),” Dr. Schlosser added.
She cited the case of a vaccinated 80-year-old Davaoeño who suffered from a critical type of COVID-19 but survived the ordeal because the patient got himself protected against the severity of the disease.
As of June 3, 2022, of the 242,209 target vaccinees in the five to 11 age bracket, only 19,639 (8.11 percent) received their first doses and 15,990 (6.60 percent) got their second doses.
This low vaccination turnout has led the Vaccination Cluster to partner with the Department of Education (DepEd) in conducting the school-based immunization. At least 60 to 70 children were inoculated at the San Roque Elementary School during the pilot rollout on May 27, 2022.
The mobile vaccination in public schools will resume on Friday, June 10, at the Doña Soledad Dolor Elementary School in the first district, Buhisan Elementary School in the second district, and Ramon F. Magsaysay Elementary School in the third district. Parents and family members of children from these three schools are also encouraged to join the vaccination rollout.
Talks are also ongoing to conduct a mobile vaccination in private schools.
