By Gladys Pino/PNA
MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH) 4-A (Calabarzon) has formed a task force that will urgently address the rapid increase of measles cases in the region by beefing up its immunization program.
DOH 4-A Director, Dr. Eduardo Janairo convened an emergency meeting at the Vivaldi Hotel in Cubao on Monday to form the group, composed of all provincial, city and municipal health officers, National Immunization Program coordinators, and provincial health team officers, including development management officers from Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon.
Janairo said the task force will address the needs of measles patients in close coordination with local government units, and ensure that DOH strategies and plans will be implemented accordingly.
“Whatever they need for this activity, we will provide it to them,” he said.
Janairo also ordered all health offices here to come up with a uniform strategy in the implementation of the mass immunization activity against measles, especially in the recording, reporting and monitoring of cases for proper documentation and evaluation.
“This is also to ensure that we have enough supply of vaccines at the local level, including health human resource who will administer it to the target population,” he added, emphasizing that the vaccine is still the safest and most effective way to combat the measles virus.
The Calabarzon health office is coordinating with various malls, churches and food chains to set up measles vaccine posts starting next week, “to make the vaccine more accessible to people,” said Dr. Felices Emerita Perez, medical officer of the DOH Center for Health Development 4-A.
“Ilalapit ang bakuna sa mga pasyente (We will bring the vaccine closer to the patients. [These vaccine posts are]) on top of available vaccine in our provincial, city and barangay health centers,” Perez said.
Janairo also initiated a more personalized approach by sending letters appealing to parents to again start trusting the DOH’s vaccines.
These vaccines for measles, polio, pertussis, and tetanus, among others, have been tested and proven safe, he said.
The DOH Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) has recorded a total of 972 measles cases from January 1 to February 9 this year, with 25 confirmed deaths. The patients’ ages ranged from nine months to 59 years old.
Health officials reported only 124 cases and one confirmed death during the same period last year.
Of the recorded 972 measles cases, 202 received the measles vaccine, 359 were not vaccinated while 174 had unknown vaccination status. Some 192 patients were less than nine months old.
Of the figure, Rizal province posted the highest with 465 cases; Laguna, 167; Batangas, 142; Cavite, 126; and Quezon, 72.
With no known cure, the highly contagious measles-rubella virus could be contained through proper immunization of children aged six to 59 months.
