12-17-year-old kids troop to Tagbilaran vaccination sites for their 1st jabs

The city government of Tagbilaran has continued its mass COVID-19 vaccination for minors who are 12 to 17 years old. (Leo Udtohan/Inquirer Visayas)

TAGBILARAN CITY—Together with their parents, children trooped to vaccination sites in this city during Tuesday’s resumption of the inoculation program for children 12 to 17 years old.

All children with or without comorbidity can be vaccinated using the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

But the priority was those who registered on the Facebook page “Asenso Pa More Tagbilaran.”

At least 600 children were to be vaccinated Tuesday.

One of them was Jerwin Jala, 16, of Barangay Booy, who went to Tagbilaran City Central School for his first dose of Pfizer.

“I am not afraid since this is for my own good and the community,” Jala said.

Dr. Teomin Tirol-Casano of the City Health Office said pediatricians from the Bohol Child Health Care Advocates were on the sites to assess and evaluate minors with comorbidities before inoculation.

Mayor John Geesnell Yap II has been encouraging eligible minors to get vaccinated against the virus.

“We want to go beyond 100 percent. But the biggest challenge is the vaccination hesitancy of some residents. So, we would like to encourage everyone that we get vaccinated so that we can end the pandemic and be part of the solution,” Yap said.

Yap said Tagbilaran has the highest vaccination rate in Central Visayas, where 64.09% of its target population had been vaccinated.

He said the city government was helping vaccinate non-Tagbilaran residents.

“Vaccinations at malls accept residents from other towns so that the whole province of Bohol can achieve herd immunity,” he said.

The “Gugma Tagbilaran” movement, initiated by Jane Yap, also gave free paracetamol at the vaccination sites.

Since there will be no walk-ins, interested parents need to register their children on the Facebook page of ‘Asenso Pa More’. The vaccination will continue on Nov. 10.

lzb