ILOILO CITY – Parents are urged to support and cooperate in the supplemental activity on measles rubella and oral polio vaccine (MR-OPV) with the first phase roll out in 25 areas in Western Visayas, particularly in this city on Monday.
During the launching, Dr. Renilyn Reyes, Family, Health and Nutrition Cluster head of the Department of Health-Center for Health Development 6 (DOH-CHD 6), said Western Visayas has 119 measles cases as of October 6 this year.
Reports showed Negros Occidental has 33 cases, Bacolod City has 29, Iloilo province has 21; Antique has 16, Iloilo City has 10, Capiz has six, Aklan has three, while Guimaras has one. Last year, Western Visayas has not recorded a single measles case.
Around 50 percent of the cases are children below five years old. Also, 61 percent of those who acquired measles were not immunized, Reyes said.
She said measles is a simple disease. However, its complications may cause the hospitalization of the child due to pneumonia and diarrhea.
It may cause convulsion due to infection in the central nervous system. Worst, it can lead to death and blindness if there are complications.
“The best thing is that it can be prevented through vaccination,” she said.
The “ToDOH Ligtas sa Polio at Tigdas” program covers six-month to five-year-old children regardless of their immunization status.
“This is the first rolling phase of the mass immunization program in the entire Philippines,” she said.
City Health Office head, Dr. Bernard Caspe, said their health workers will go house-to-house from October 22 until November 22 to administer the measles rubella and oral polio vaccine (OPV).
If needed, they would extend the drive up to December just to make sure that their target age group is 100 percent covered, Caspe said.
If parents would refuse, he said they will try to explain and convince them that the measles rubella and OPV immunizations are different from the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine.
“This is proven safe and effective,” he said.
Meanwhile, Reyes said Iloilo City is included in the first phase of the activity which covers places with confirmed cases. The target is to cover a total of 339,183 children.
The second phase, which will be administered during the first and second quarter of 2019 will cover 258,443 children in 42 areas or those that are considered as bordering areas or with highest number of “missed”children. (/PNA)
