BACOLOD City – The City Health Office (CHO) is optimistic it will reach its target number of measles-vaccinated children in the metro.
Dr. Edwin Miraflor of the CHO said despite some challenges faced by health workers, he thinks they will achieve the goal of 95-percent immunized children.
“(I believe) we will make it,” Miraflor said.
Data from the CHO showed so far, 32,914 children aged nine to 59 months have received measles-rubella shots, which is 65.53 percent of the 50,231 target number of vaccinees.
Those given the oral polio vaccines, who are 0 to 59 months, reached 37,117, or 63.38 percent of the target 58,565 children, it showed.
Miraflor said some parents are still wary of getting their children immunized because of the scare brought by the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.
Also, some children do not feel well during the scheduled immunization that they do not get inoculated right away, he added.
The Department of Health’s “Chikiting Ligtas” health campaign, which runs from Feb. 1 to 28, aims to immunize 95 percent of all children aged nine to 59 months for measles-rubella, and all children under five years old for polio.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia earlier appealed to parents and guardians to submit their children to vaccination to protect them from these infectious communicable diseases.
Emilia Monicimpo, DOH-6 regional director, said the vaccination campaign acts as a preventive measure that guards children against contracting highly contagious diseases that lead to grave complications, including permanent disability. (With a report from PNA/PN)
