The Department of Health (DoH) called on parents to have their children vaccinated against measles amid a spike of cases that prompted the government to launch a supplemental immunization drive nationwide.
The department said 5,450 measles cases were reported from January 1 to April 14. Fifteen children died, 13 of them unvaccinated.
PHOTO BY DJ DIOSINA
The Health Department officially launched at the Parañaque City Hall the Measles Supplemental Immunization program that targets infants and children aged 6-59 months old regardless of immunization status.
“As we launch the Ligtas Tigdas campaign here in the Metro Manila, we hope to reach all parents/caregivers and guardians emphasizing the life-saving benefits of measles vaccination,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd said.
Duque reminded parents and caregivers to have their children vaccinated from April 25 to May 24 for Metro Manila and from May 9 to June 8 for Mindanao.
The Health department will provide the measles vaccines for free.
“I would like to reiterate to the public, especially to the parents/guardians, that the measles vaccine is safe and we have been doing this since the 1970s,” Duque said.
“Measles vaccination has saved millions of lives. Let us all protect the health of all Filipino children through vaccination against measles,” he added.
In March, the Health department declared a measles outbreak in Negros Oriental after 19 cases of measles were reported in the towns of Bacung, Mabinay, San Jose, Santa Catalina, Siaton and Valencia and Dumaguete City.
A village in Taguig City also declared an outbreak in March after seven cases were reported.
In February, the DoH reported a measles outbreak in Zamboanga City, prompting the agency and the local government to launch a massive immunization program in villages.