Health experts in Cagayan de Oro mourn parents who refuse measles and polio vaccinations 2023
“The child’s current health condition and their routine immunization status, which are already complete,” said Dr. Ina Grace Chiu, City Health Office (CHO) National Immunization Program medical coordinator, in an online press briefing on Monday, June 5.
“Of course, we respected the decision of the parents if they didn’t want to submit their children (to the immunization),” Chiu stated in the vernacular.
Before the start of the Measles-Rubella and Oral Polio Vaccine Supplemental Immunization Activity (MR-OPV-SIA), health authorities indicated that children will receive the vaccines regardless of their immunization status to protect them from the viral infections.
“If they don’t want their children to get vaccinated, it could possibly be that their children will be the first to get sick; they will be the carriers of measles in Cagayan de Oro,” Chiu stated in vernacular.
MR-OPVSIA began on May 2 and was intended to terminate last month. The Department of Health extended the activity through June 15 since there are still many eligible youngsters to vaccine.
On June 4, Cagayan de Oro vaccinated 47,601 youngsters with measles-rubella and 56,523 with OPV. These barely cover 75.26 percent and 76.42 percent of the DOH’s 95 percent objective.
Measles-rubella and OPV immunizations are targeted at 63,248 and 73,964 youngsters, respectively.
The DOH’s predicted number of eligible children is far higher than the city’s actual population, which contributed to the vaccine target’s failure.
CHO and other health clinics continue the city’s Covid-19 vaccine campaign.
“Our population difference is huge.”That’s why we search for all zero-to-59-month-olds,”
However, the CHO stated they continue to hunt for qualified children and requested parents to support the city government by immunizing their appropriate children against measles, rubella, and polio.
Dr. Rachel Dilla, city health officer, noted a research showing that only 85% of vaccinated infants had immune systems to combat these infections. Thus, 15% acquired antibodies slowly, necessitating booster immunizations.
DOH Undersecretary Beverly Lorraine Ho, who attended the MR-OPVSIA kick-off event in this city, said the country needs to catch up because it failed to meet the 95 percent target coverage for the last two years due to the pandemic.
Last year, DOH-Region 10 reported 74,226 completely vaccinated children in Northern Mindanao, 68.43 percent. This is 8.08 percent lower than the 77,033 or 76.51 percent fully immunized youngsters in the region in 2021.
As of May 31, the local administration has only reached 81.83 percent coverage for older residents, 45.85 percent for the first booster immunization, and 53.1 percent for children aged five to 11.
The DOH established a target of 90 percent vaccine coverage for older persons, 50 percent for the first booster immunization, and at least 70 percent for five- to 11-year-olds, therefore the city needs to vaccinate more.
