DOH targets 2.8 million children in Mindanao for ‘Ligtas Tigdas’ immunization
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 21 January) – The Department of Health (DOH) has started the massive vaccination against measles and rubella in Mindanao, targeting 2.8 million children aged six to 59 months old all over the island for “herd immunity.”
Health Secretary Dr. Teodoro Herbosa urged parents to have their children aged five years or younger vaccinated for protection from the viral diseases through the “Ligtas Tigdas” (Safe from Measles) campaign.
“The benefit of measles-rubella vaccination is that the outbreak and the number of deaths and hospitalization among children will be greatly reduced,” he said in Filipino during his keynote address.
Measles is the world’s most contagious disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Measles infects the respiratory tract and then spreads throughout the body, and can be deadly. Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose and a rash all over the body.
On the other hand, rubella, which is milder than the regular measles and often called “three-day measles,” is also a highly contagious viral disease. It spreads easily when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Most children and adults who get rubella have a mild fever and rash, according to a WHO briefer.
Herbosa, who led here the Mindanao-wide launching of the Measles-Rubella Vaccine Supplemental Immunization Activity (MR-SIA) last Monday, said the massive vaccination campaign will last until February 15.
He appealed to parents whose children have not been vaccinated against measles and rubella to have them injected, assuring them the vaccines are safe and effective.
He noted that children who are not vaccinated have a high risk of dying from health complications.
“Vaccination saves lives. It has been used for a long time. Even in the 1960s, we were already vaccinating against measles,” Herbosa said.
The health secretary said for decades, measles vaccines have protected millions of children around the world from diseases that once claimed numerous lives.
“Through strong scientific research, fair testing and continuous monitoring, vaccines have proven to be one of the most effective public health interventions in history,” he said.
Herbosa said that children under five years old who have already been vaccinated against measles may still get injected without safety and health complications.
“Your willingness to bring the children to the nearest health center and have them vaccinated is an act of love and courage. Vaccines are safe,” he said.
Herbosa said the DOH is targeting a 95% immunization rate against measles and rubella across the country through the MR-SIA campaign.
Aside from the vaccines, the campaign includes giving the children Vitamin A boost for clearer eye vision, which is administered through oral droplets, he said.
South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. expressed full support to the MR-SIA campaign of the DOH.
“Kailangan wala pang sakit, protektado na ang mga komunidad (It is better to protect the communities before a disease will hit),” he said. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
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