It’s now the turn of the minors.
Since the supplies of COVID-19 vaccines are stable, as stated by the Department of Health (DOH), minors aged 12-17 years are set to receive their vaccine shots starting this November 2021.
In Baliwag, Bulacan, the local government unit (LGU) conducted a consultative meeting together with the school officials and representatives on November 2 regarding the vaccination of the said age group. As discussed in the meeting, the schools will assist in disseminating the instructions regarding the registration of minors and monitoring the vaccination of their enrolled students.
The step-by-step procedures of the vaccination of the minors have been cascaded to the parents by the teachers and are found on the Facebook Page of Mayor Ferdinand Estrella.
In Montessori De Sagrada Familia (MDSF), a total of 912 students from Grade 6 to Grade 12 are eligible to receive the vaccine, of which 463 students are Baliwag residents and 449 are non-Baliwag residents. The LGU of Baliwag is committed to prioritize vaccinating first the Baliwag residents then the non-Baliwag students studying in Baliwag. Meanwhile, Municipal Administrator Enrique Tagle urged the non-Baliwag residents to also register in their respective LGU.
XIan Gabriel Avendaño, a senior high school student from MDSF, reminded the students to still be careful despite being vaccinated. He mentioned, “The vaccination is a good step from the government; however, there is a misunderstanding that if you get vaccinated you can go out already anytime without following the safety protocols. Vaccinated or not, everyone should still be careful.”
Meanwhile, Mrs. Maria Cristina-Santos Silamor, the principal of MDSF, saw the vaccination as a hope for schools to reopen and to conduct limited face-to-face classes and other possible learning modalities next school year.
“This is great news not only for the families of the minors but to the school administrations and teachers as well. The vaccination of minors gives them an extra layer of protection. This is also a possible trigger for the reopening of physical schools next school year in case the government allows us,” she said.
With great hope, Silamor is also looking forward to the 5-11 student population being inoculated, citing that prolonged closure of physical schools is very detrimental to the well-being of the children.