Makati, Caloocan eye minors for jab drive

MANILA, Philippines — The city governments of Makati and Caloocan announced yesterday that they are preparing to register minors for COVID-19 vaccination.

Residents of Makati aged 12 to 17 could sign up for vaccination on the website proudmakatizen.com, the city government said in an advisory on its Facebook page.

It added that a master list would be created for COVID-19 vaccination for teenagers.

However, some netizens asked the city government to which category the minors would belong.

So far, only the following categories are available for registration for COVID-19 jabs: A1 or medical workers; A2 or senior citizens; A3 or those with co-morbidities; A4 or employees; Makatizen Card holders; Makati residents; Makati voters; national government personnel assigned in Makati; and A5 or indigent population.

In Caloocan, the city government said in a statement that it would conduct profiling of minors aged 12 to 17 with the help of the city’s Department of Education office in preparation for the possibility of administering COVID-19 shots to them.

Mayor Oscar Malapitan said the city government should formulate its COVID-19 vaccination program for minors since their parents or guardians would be required to give their consent.

Students and out-of-school youths would be given COVID-19 jabs, he added.

Malapitan said COVID-19 vaccination for children could pave the way in eventually reintroducing face-to-face classes.

As of Tuesday, a total of 798,699 residents of Caloocan had received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine while 479,134 had been fully vaccinated.

Previously, the municipal government of Pateros also called on residents aged 12 to 17 to sign up online for its COVID-19 vaccination program.