MANILA — Some 6.9 million children have been vaccinated against measles, rubella and polio under the government's "Chikiting Ligtas 2023" campaign, according to the Department of Health.

The DOH launched a month-long nationwide supplemental immunization campaign to inoculate the youth against vaccine-preventable diseases.

As of May 15, about 5.3 million were vaccinated against measles and rubella, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a press briefing Tuesday. This latest figure represents 55.47 percent of the total eligible population.

Meanwhile, around 1.6 million children received the polio vaccine or 52.12 percent of the total eligible population, she added.

Additionally, the DOH has distributed vitamin A supplementation to 2.2 million children.

• Confidence in childhood vaccines fell 25 pct in Philippines during pandemic - UNICEF

The campaign aims to vaccinate 9.5 million children against measles and rubella, and provide bivalent oral polio vaccine to 11 million children.

Latest data from Unicef showed the Philippines has 1,048,000 zero-dose children, the second highest in East Asia and the Pacific Region, and the fifth highest globally.

The top 5 regions with most zero-dose children include Calabarzon (146,160), Central Luzon (99,541), Western Visayas (96,774), Bicol (80,905) and the Bangsamoro (75,671).

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