- MITCH M. LIPA
Members of the Bacolod Vaccination Council will start on Oct. 15 the pilot testing for the vaccination of 12 to 17 years old Bacolodnons.
Dr. Chris Sorongon, deputy director of the Emergency Operations Center, said there is an ongoing online registration for students aged 15 to 17 years old as the first group, and 12 to 14 years old in the second group.
The EOC is also coordinating with the Negros Occidental Private Schools Sports Cultural and Educational Association (NOSSCEA) for the registration of teenagers.
Sorongon said that more than 90,000 students have registered online to take part in the vaccination against the coronavirus.
The pilot testing will run until Oct. 31. The EOC expects to fully roll out the vaccination among teenagers in November in various vaccination centers of Bacolod, Sorongon said, adding that this is part of strengthening the preventive aspect of the fight against the COVID pandemic so that the whole family will be protected.
The EOC logged COVID cases involving elementary and high school students, on top of being hit by dengue, Sorongon said, adding this was one reason why they opposed the proposal to hold face to face classes, since the students belong to the unprotected sector.
Meanwhile, Sorongon said Bacolod logged an additional case of the Delta variant.
The 36-year-old resident of Barangay Villamonte has recovered, but since the case was a household transmission, the patient and his close contacts underwent re-swabs Tuesday and if they will test negative, they will be considered fully recovered and the lockdown on the household lifted.
The confirmed Delta cases in Bacolod already reached 23. Sorongon said the symptoms are different from the common P3 variant where a patient has fever, sore throat, and loose stools. But with the mutation, common symptoms of a Delta positive include body pains.
The EOC continues to appeal for residents to get vaccinated, adding that of the 160 COVID deaths last month, 140 were not inoculated. — MML
