Children receive polio vaccine during a mass immunization program in Quezon City on October 14, 2019. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/file
MANILA - Parents are urged to get their babies vaccinated during the Department of Health's (DOH) catchup immunization program from April until June, its spokesperson said Friday.
The health agency targets to inoculate 80 percent of the 1.1 million babies who missed their jabs against preventable diseases last year, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
VPDs include tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and measles, according to the DOH.
Immunization will be held Thursdays and Fridays of the last week of April, May, and June, Vergeire said.
"Atin pong tangkilikin upang matiyak na ligtas ang ating mga chikiting mula sa iba't ibang sakit tulad ng polio, measles, at iba pa," she told reporters.
(Let's avail of this so we can ensure our children are safe from various diseases such as polio and measles, among others.)
The agency has so far recorded 45 cases of measles this year versus 83 cases in the same period last year, Vergeire said.
It tallied 3 cases of diphtheria so far versus 11 cases in the same period last year, and nearly halved the number of dengue cases to 10,915 from 20,213 in the same period last year, Vergeire added.
"In the meantime na tayo ay nakafocus sa COVID, 'wag naman natin requirement or need to vaccinate for the routine immunization dahil isa ito sa malaking tulong sa pagiwas sa mga sakit na nandito pa rin sa ating bansa," said pediatrician Dr. Anna Ong-Lim, member of the DOH-technical advisory group.
(While we're focused on COVID, let's not forget the need for routine immunization because it's a big help in preventing existing diseases in our country.)
Video courtesy of the Department of Health