CEBU City’s Covid-19 vaccination registration will be updated to include parents’ consent for children aged 12 to 17 years old, Acting Mayor Michael Rama said.
PaBakunata.com, the city’s registration website, requires personal information, which might put the privacy and security of minors at risk without adult supervision, said Rama.
“We have to respect the human rights of children and their parents,” he said.
The City is still waiting for the Department of Health’s (DOH) guidelines for the vaccination of minors.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, spokesperson of the Visayas Vaccination Operations Center, said the vaccination program against Covid-19 is now open for the general population.
She urged eligible individuals aged 18 years old and above to take advantage of the free vaccination.
“All the vaccines that we have, including those from the Covax facility donation, can be used for the general population. This is the best time to be vaccinated so we can have a very happy, merry Christmas,” she said during a press briefing on Friday, Oct. 1, 2021.
Loreche said there is already a plan to vaccinate children aged 12 to 17 years as early as October 15, but they are still waiting for confirmation if Cebu is included in the pilot run for the vaccination of this age group.
She said they still have to collate from the different local government units the number of children who registered for vaccination.
As of Sept. 27, 2021, Central Visayas has received a total of 3,710,530 doses of different brands of Covid-19 vaccines, including Sinovac (1,962,440 doses), Pfizer (847,080 doses) and AstraZeneca (364,560 doses).
DOH 7’s data also showed that as of Sept. 30, a total of 965,337 individuals have been fully vaccinated in Cebu while 140,825 individuals are waiting to get their second dose of the vaccine. (WBS)