Time to ramp up immunization campaign for our children

On the matter of vaccines, the almost three-year Covid-19 pandemic has left two conflicting, if subtle, results: Filipinos have become conscious of the efficacy and indispensability of vaccines and second, the lockdowns, social distancing, and other restrictive policies prevented health authorities from rendering more expansive measles, polio, and rubella immunization programs.

The latter must be the reason why Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Rosario Vergeire warned last October that the country may face a measles outbreak this year if the vaccination coverage of children is not ramped up. She added that the Philippines was flagged by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which both aired serious concern on the fact that three million Filipino children remained unvaccinated against measles.

Measles and rubella are two of the most common vaccine-preventable diseases among school-age children in the Philippines. Rubella, also known as German measles, is caused by a different virus than measles, but both are contagious and are transmitted when an infected individual coughs or sneezes.

Polio or poliomyelitis is a disabling and life-threatening disease caused by the poliovirus, which spreads from person to person and can infect an individual’s spinal cord, causing paralysis. Just like measles, immunization is the cornerstone of polio eradication.

It is a fact that the recent pandemic became a formidable hurdle in the government’s regular immunization program against these three diseases, so that the country recorded a 541-percent increase in measles and rubella cases from Jan. 1 to Feb. 25 this year compared to the same period last year.

It is therefore timely that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has asked parents to have their children vaccinated against measles, rubella, and polio. In a video message, he called on parents to support the vaccine campaign of the DOH.

“As parents, it is our responsibility to protect our children against illnesses. We want to have a safe environment and good health for every Filipino child,” the President said.
The DOH launched last month the “Chikiting Ligtas” program to vaccinate children ages nine to 59 months for measles and rubella, and zero to 59 months for polio. Aside from local health centers and barangay halls, some malls also served as vaccination sites.

In touting the immunization campaign, President Marcos assured parents that the vaccines are free, safe, and effective, so they need not have apprehensions about them.
“Let us not allow our kids to be endangered because of measles, rubella, or polio. Vaccinate for a healthy and productive Philippines,” the President said. We agree, because after coming out whole from an epidemic that decimated thousands, we cannot permit any more outbreaks of diseases when we have immunization and science as effective weapons. He urged parents to bring their children to the nearest health center or barangay vaccination sites.

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