by Maroe T. Genosa/PNA
BATANGAS CITY — The City Health Office (CHO) said that its vaccination program against measles will go on, whether or not anyone has been found to be infected with the highly-contagious disease.
This was the CHO’s message to residents on Thursday amid reports of a measles outbreak in the Calabarzon Region (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) and elsewhere in the country, which has reportedly caused grave concern among parents of young childern.
“Wala pang naitala ang City Health Office (CHO) na kaso ng batang may tigdas sa Batangas City sa kasalukuyan. Pero bilang preventive measure, nagsasagawa ang CHO ng door-to-door measles vaccination na ipinag-uutos ng Department of Health (DOH). (We have no recorded children with measles cases at present by our Batangas City Health Office. But as a preventive measure, the CHO is conducting door-to door vaccination as directed by the Department of Health (DOH),” CHO chief Dr. Rosanna Barrion said.
Barrion said while the contagion has yet to reach Batangas City, many cases have been recorded in other parts of the province. These include the 91 confirmed cases in Lipa City, according to latest figures from the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU).
She said the CHO has embarked on a massive school-based immunization drive and has designated vaccination posts in the malls and other strategic places like public markets and churches.
Barrion said the last confirmed case of measles within city limits, involving only one patient, was recorded in Sept. last year.
“Isang epektibong paraan upang maiwasan ang pagkalat ng tigdas ay ang information dissemination. Kung kayat sa pangunguna ng National Immunization Program Coordinator ng CHO, nagsasagawa sila ng mga lecture sa mga barangay at paaralan (An effective way to avoid the spread of measles is information dissemination. That’s why the CHO National Immunization Coordinator is continuously conducting lectures in the villages and schools),” Barrion added.
According to Barrion, the CHO has documented some 4,895 fully-immunized children with ages 0-11 months in 2018 although lower by 113 compared to 2017 figures with some 5,008 vaccinees.
These immunizations cover BCG or anti-tuberculosis, Hepatitis-B and measles, PENTA 123 (Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Hepatitis B and HIV).
She added that the number of children protected at birth or those mothers vaccinated with Tetanus Toxoid during their pregnancy reached at least 4,264 last year, also a decline by some 44 vaccinees compared to the 2017 data at 4,308.
The city health medical chief attributed the decline in the number of vaccinees to the increasing population of children and “not because of the Dengvaxia controversy that have brought about fears among parents.”
She said parents must comply with Republic Act 10152 or the “Mandatory Infants and Children Health Immunization Act of 2011”, which mandates local government units to provide free and continuing immunization program for children 6 to 59 months-old in various local health centers.
