DOH extends vaccine program for school children

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) is extending for another month its school-based immunization campaign to protect more children against measles and other infectious diseases.

Health Secretary Janette Garin yesterday said there were delays in the immunization campaign, as some parents of schoolchildren refuse to give their consent.

Garin explained that many parents became apprehensive due to earlier reports that a child died after taking the deworming pill provided by the DOH in its nationwide “Oplan Goodbye Bulate” program.

The health chief, however, stressed that all the negative reports about the deworming debacle are untrue.

She announced that the immunization campaign would continue until end of September so they could cover over three million public school students under Grades 1 and 7 nationwide.

Garin said low immunization rates in many regions prompted the DOH to extend the campaign, which was supposed to end by Aug. 31.

Among the regions with zero immunization rates were National Capital Region, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon and Caraga, she noted.

The DOH launched the national school-based campaign to protect young children from tetanus, diphtheria, measles and rubella, said Garin.

With the “Bakuna para sa Kabataan, Proteksyon sa Kinabukasan” program, Garin said the DOH hopes to provide immunization to at least 95 percent of the over 2.4 million Grade 1 students and 1.6 million Grade 7 students from various public schools nationwide.

“We need to achieve 95 percent immunization rate to ensure immunity from the four diseases among the age group,” she said.

However, two weeks after the program was launched last Aug. 3, Garin said the DOH posted immunization rates of 11 percent and 10 percent for Grade 1 and Grade 7 students, respectively.