DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 1 October) – The city government announced on Friday its plan to open the anti- COVID-19 vaccination rollout to the general public this month.
Dr. Michelle Schlosser, focal person for Davao City COVID-19 Task Force, told Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) on Friday that this will hasten the vaccination drive of the local government since individuals who don’t belong to the priority list of the government can now avail of the program.
“The individuals belonging to the general population hopefully can get themselves vaccinated once we open it to them,” she said.
She added the rollout could start once the city receives the guidelines from the Department of Health (DOH).
Schlosser, however, said that the rollout will not yet include the minors aged 12 to 17 years old, as the vaccination for them will be piloted in the National Capital Region on October 15, and only for those with comorbidities as part of A4 priority group.
Once the pilot is completed, she said the local government expects similar rollout for children in other areas of the country.
In a statement released on September 29, the DOH said there must be “Informed consent by the parent/guardian and child prior to vaccination; supply of Pfizer and Moderna, the only vaccines with emergency use authorization for 12 to 17 year olds issued by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration; more importantly, equitable access to medical clearance by a physician for children with comorbidities.”
Scholosser emphasized that vaccination helps contain COVID-19 infections.
From September 19 to 25, 2,431 new cases were reported, of whom 2,107 were unvaccinated.
“That’s quite high of a number. It only means that vaccinated individuals are more protected compared with people who are unvaccinated,” she said.
She assured the public that vaccines are safe, recording zero incidents of vaccine-related deaths since vaccination began last March 5.
Based on the data released by DOH-Davao last Monday, Davao City was allocated 720,476 out of 1,042,047 doses allocated for first doses; 715,398 out of 1,369,808 doses allocated for second dose; and 15,650 doses of the single-dose Janssen of Johnson & Johnson.
As of September 27, DOH-Davao reported that 699,777 individuals received the first dose in the city, 489,903 for the second dose, and 15,650 individuals received the single-dose Janssen.
As of September 30, DOH-Davao reported 49,678 total cases in the city, with 8,614 active, 39,518 recoveries, and 1,546 deaths. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
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