BY IME SORNITO and ADRIAN STEWART CO
ILOILO City – The Department of Education (DepEd) is considering a “no vaccination, no enrolment” policy following the spike in the number of measles cases.
In Iloilo, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) targets to inoculate around 44,000 elementary pupils with anti-measles shots starting this week.
“It is the right of children to be protected from immunizable diseases like measles,” said PHO head Dr. Patricia Grace Trabado.
The number of suspected measles cases in Western Visayas rose to 688 last week, latest data from the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6 showed.
Measles is a highly contagious disease whose virus is transmitted through droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected persons.
The DOH central office made the proposed no vaccination, no enrolment policy, which is now being studied by DepEd.
The rights of students would be the prime consideration, said DepEd secretary Leonor Briones.
“As much as there is a growing need to reinvigorate the campaign for the importance of vaccination, the proposed policy must take into consideration the human rights of learners, especially their access to quality basic education,” Briones added.
She also said DepEd is looking into different ways “to regain the confidence of parents in immunization.”
The following are measures that would be implemented should the proposed no vaccination, no enrolment policy is approved:
* Develop consent form and evaluation form which will categorize learners as “vaccinated,” “doubtful,” and “not vaccinated”
* Verify school records and vaccination cards
* Gather and share data on the number of learners affected with measles
* Coordinate with health center staff on learners who are absent and whose parents did not give consent during vaccination
* Follow up on learners who did not receive vaccination and those who opted to be inoculated by private practitioner
* Review and explore the strengthening of Executive Order No. 663, series 2007 (Implementing the National Commitment for “Bakuna ang Una sa Sanggol at Ina,” Attaining World Health Organization’s Goals to Eliminate Measles and Neonatal Tetanus, Eradicate Polio, Control Hepatitis B and Other Vaccine-Preventable Diseases) and Executive Order No. 82, series 2012 (Operationalizing the Practical Guide for National Crisis Managers and the National Crisis Management Core Manual; Establishing National and Local Crisis Management Organizations)
“I assure the learners, parents, teaching and non-academic personnel, and stakeholders that the DepEd will continue to work closely with the DOH in monitoring measles cases and in strengthening efforts to combat the disease,” said Briones.
For her part, Trabado said children deserve to enjoy the health services offered by the government.
She added that parents should understand that the government only wants to protect children, noting that the proposed policy caters to both the right to health and education.
“So dapat siguro maintindihan sang parents ang mga efforts sang government para nga ma-improve ang child survival at the same ma-educate ang mga kabataan,” Trabado said. “Kung poor ang health nila, ang intellegence level nila in the end basi manubo man.”
The PHO targets to vaccinate about 44,000 Grade 1 to 7 pupils who were not covered by the school-based immunization program in 2018.
Their parents refused to give PHO consent to immunize them due to the Dengvaxia scare, Trabado added.
According to the PHO chief, nurses from the DOH Region 6 will be deployed to schools for the vaccination program.
Health officers from various local government units in Iloilo will also help in making the immunization “fast and smooth.”
But Trabado added that children aged six to 59 months old – or those younger than 5 years old – are still the priority of the vaccination program./PN
