ILOILO City – A total of 152 more vaccinators and 200 more data encoders are needed for the Department of Health’s (DOH) Region 6 measles-rubella-bivalent oral polio vaccine supplemental immunization activity (MR-bOPV SIA) this May.
The deployment of additional vaccinators and data management support staff or encoders will cover a two-month period (May and June), said Dr. Jose Martin Atienza, the regional immunization program coordinator of DOH.
“This will also provide additional job opportunities to our people,” added Atienza.
For vaccinators, those to be hired are nurses and midwives as well as medical doctors and pharmacists who will be assigned to several provinces and highly urbanized cities of the region.
The hiring of additional human resources for health is one of the preparations of DOH for the upcoming MR-bOPV SIA along with the management of vaccines and other logistics, engagement with partners, orientation with local chief executives, and the scheduled kick-off events.
For the said supplemental immunization activity, Atienza called on fellow health practitioners and the general public to promote the campaign to combat misconceptions and raise vaccine confidence among patients and the target population.
Meanwhile, Dr. Fritzi Anne Suzette Jeroso-Dequito, the Health Promotion Unit head of DOH 6, encouraged parents, guardians and caregivers to get their children and wards protected against measles, rubella, and polio diseases. (PIA-6/PN)
