COTABATO CITY—Bangsamoro Government’s Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Department of Health – Region 12 (DOH-12) officially launched on Monday, Feb. 7 at Cotabato Regional and Medical Center (CRMC) the Covid-19 pediatric vaccination hub intended for kids aged 5 to 11 years old.
This was in line with the nationwide opening of pilot vaccination sites for the said age bracket, aimed to protect every member of Filipino families, not only adults and youths, but also children and kids, against the deadly virus.
According to CRMC Pediatric Department Chairperson Dr. Bai Samirah Ampatuan-Singgon, protecting our children means “protecting the hope of our motherland and allowing them to live in a new normal way of life so that we can reach their full potentials”.
“In fact, more than 8.7 million children globally have been vaccinated and 97.5% of those did not exhibit any side effects and no deaths,” Dr. Singgon said.
While hoping that the current omicron variant would be the last variant to end the covid-19 pandemic, CRMC Medical Center Chief II Dr. Ishmael R. Dimaren assured the parents that the vaccine for children is safe.
“This vaccine for aged 5 to 11 years old was reformulated by an expert and considered very safe for the children to be vaccinated,” Dr. Dimaren emphasized.
“More than 36,000 youths have already been vaccinated in the city with no reports of death and serious adverse effects among those who are vaccinated,” said Cotabato City Health Officer Dr. Meyasser Patadon.
On the other hand, MOH Minister Dr. Bashary A. Latiph considered this day for parents all over this country as the “day of relief and salvation”.
Bashary encouraged the parents to get their children vaccinated for their protection and immunity and stressed that the vaccine is approved by Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) as safe and effective.
“After almost 18 months of worrying every time that our children get sick in our homes, we have feared that our children may get the Covid-19 disease. It is now the right time for them to get vaccinated and protected from the Covid-19, especially our children are going back to school (for the face-to-face classes),” Minister Latiph said.
DOH-XII Regional Director Dr. Aristides Conception Tan expressed his appreciation to the management of CRMC for consistently supporting the implementation of DOH programs such as vaccination hub in the region.
“I am hoping that our extensive coverage of vaccination being the CRMC as the pilot hub on these ages will be successful and [with] high turnouts,” Dr. Tan Said.
The inoculation targets to administer about 795, 012 in BARMM and 754,224 in Region XII aged 5 to 11 years old.
More than 100 children were vaccinated on Monday’s launching, including the sons and daughters of doctors, nurses and their relatives, purposely to get the full trust and confidence of the public that the vaccines are safe and families should encourage their children to get vaccinated. (Kasan M. Usop, Jr./BIO)
