Cebu City Starts Pre-registration of COVID-19 Vaccine for Minors

Cebu City has officially announced the online registration for the vaccination of minors in Cebu, aged 12-17 years old. Last October 11, at the Plaza Sugbo in Cebu City, Acting Mayor Michael Rama and Public Relations Consultant Cerwin Eviota officially announced and oriented the procedures on how parents and guardians can register their children at PaBakunaTa.com, a portal run by the city government. This portal launched by the Cebu government has data of the master list of minors qualified to be vaccinated against the virus.

The city government of Cebu is still waiting for the Cebu City Health Department’s official signal to start vaccinating the minors. Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, Officer-in-Charge of the CHD, said that the health sector would prioritize those children with comorbidities as per the Department of Health (DOH). The latter also stated that they are also waiting for the final guidelines from the DOH.

Ibones added that children with comorbidities must present a medical certificate and that a parent or a guardian must accompany them during the actual vaccination. [1]

Minors are currently not allowed to go outside as per the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF). With regards to the anticipated vaccination of the children, they would only be permitted to go out to get their shots of the vaccine as reassured by City Councilor and deputy chief implementer of the city’s Emergency Operations Center, Joel Garganera. [2]

Mayor Rama is optimistic that the city would be able to vaccinate 70% of the population by the end of the year once the actual vaccination for the children begins. [3] This conscious effort initiated by the city government is tied to the national government’s program to expand the inoculation of the COVID-19 vaccine to the youth and the children in general since the government is starting to prepare for the possible return of limited face-to-face classes. [4]

President Rodrigo Duterte has also declared last September that the government can start vaccinating the general population, particularly the children, by October 2021. Duterte is urging parents and guardians to register their children to receive the vaccine.

To achieve herd immunity, the Cebu City government targets to inoculate 738,453 people. [5]

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