Bulacan kids treated to resort swim before vaccination

RELIEF FROM HEAT | Children, closely watched by some guardians, take advantage of a free pass to swim at a water park in Pandi, Bulacan, before they line up to get their COVID-19 vaccine shots at the resort. (Photo by CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE / Inquirer Central Luzon)

PANDI, Bulacan, Philippines —Trixie Mae Cananua, 11, took a dip in a swimming pool to cool off and calm herself before lining up to get her first dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine at a resort here on Tuesday.

Just like her, about 500 other children age 5 to 11 were given an early summer treat at Amana Water Park Resort here to ease their fear of needles.

“I’m really nervous before coming here so I decided to swim first to shake off the jitters. We’re glad to be finally out of our houses after a long time,” Cananua told the Inquirer in Filipino.

The pediatric vaccination at the resort was aimed at inoculating more children in preparation for the resumption of in-person classes, according to Pandi Mayor Enrico Roque, whose family owns the resort.

PROTECTING KIDS | The municipal government of Pandi in Bulacan taps a local resort as one of the pediatric vaccination sites in the town to entice parents to get their children inoculated. (Photo by CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE / Inquirer Central Luzon)

Barred from school

He said the mass inoculation of children at the resort would run for five days and would help the town hit its target of 9,000 eligible children.

Those who received the first dose of the vaccine at the resort would receive their second shot after three weeks, Roque said.

Eight public schools in the town have also been designated as pediatric vaccination sites, and children who were vaccinated in these venues could also go to the resort to swim for free, the mayor said.

Last week, Gov. Daniel Fernando said unvaccinated students would be prohibited from returning to their schools even as the Department of Education (DepEd) began the expanded pilot run of in-person classes in 44 public schools in Bulacan on Monday.

At least 5,000 fully vaccinated students from 19 of 24 towns and cities in the province were allowed to resume limited in-person classes on Feb. 21. The province began its pediatric vaccination program for children 5 to 11 years old only on Feb. 14.

Zenia Mostoles, Bulacan schools division superintendent, said 65 other schools, mostly elementary, in the province were also given the clearance to proceed with the limited in-person classes after undergoing assessment, validation, and inspection by DepEd officials.

In a phone interview on Monday, Mostales said they had to defer the opening of classes in other schools since most of the students remained unvaccinated against COVID-19.

—CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE

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