'RESBAKUNA KIDS'. Children are seen wearing costumes as they wait to get their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine during the launching of the 'Resbakuna Kids' at SM Consolacion in Consolacion town, north of Cebu province on Monday (Feb. 14, 2022). Consolacion Mayor Johannes Alegado, a doctor by profession, said the event was a huge leap forward in the aspiration to finally end the pandemic. (Screengrab from DOH-7 video) CEBU CITY - The Department of Health (DOH) in Central Visayas on Monday kicked off the vaccination for children aged 5 to 11 at a mall in Consolacion town, north of Cebu province, with 160 kids receiving their first dose. "Today's ceremonial launching is another huge leap forward in our aspiration to finally end the pandemic, considering that the young ones are considered a vulnerable sector, being unvaccinated and despite their so-called strong immune system and strong immune response, there are some of them who developed complications," Consolacion Mayor Johannes Alegado said in a video message during the launching of "Resbakuna Kids". The mayor cited the statement of scientists who developed the vaccines, saying that vaccination is "the key towards reaching the end of this dark tunnel that we have gone through over the last two years". He said the vaccination program of the national government has helped the people fight and survive the pandemic. Alegado, who is a medical doctor by profession, said vaccines provide protection and immunity, thus afford the people to cope with the recent surge in cases of the Omicron variant. He said vaccination decreases the possibility of hospitalization as it prevents the disease from progressing into a severe state. Meanwhile, Dr. Rogelio John Villamor, a medical officer of the Department of Education (DepEd-Central Visayas), said in his message that while 88 percent of the DepEd workforce, including teachers, are now fully vaccinated, the department wants schoolchildren to be protected against Covid-19 in preparation for the expansion of limited face to face classes. "Who would have thought that young learners would eventually be exposed to digital classroom... This has also affected our young children because they cannot play or socialize with their classmates in schools, and this will have some tremendous health effects in the future," Villamor said, pointing out that "learning must continue". Michelle Lesley Llanos, SM Malls vice president for operations in the Visayas, thanked the DOH for choosing SM Consolacion as the venue for the rollout of the vaccination for younger children. The DOH-7 said the specially-prepared Pfizer vaccine for children is a 10-microgram dose at 0.2 milliliters. (PNA) }