• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Chikiting Ligtas campaign of the Department of Health, which is supposed to end May 31, has been extended to June 16, with 117,949 children remaining for vaccination in Western Visayas.
Negros Occidental, on the other hand, remains on top of the list of provinces and highly urbanized cities in Western Visayas, with highest vaccination rate at 85 percent, as of May 26.
In an issued advisory by the DOH Western Visayas Center for Health and Development, it said that it has vaccinated 509,102 children five years and below, for measles, rubella and polio, as of May 30.
Herd immunity can only be achieved once immunization coverage rate for MR (measles rubella) vaccine reaches 95 percent, according to DOH 6 regional director Dr. Adriano Suba-an.
With this, the conduct of MR-bOPV SIA (Measles-Rubella – bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine Supplemental Immunization Activity), as well as the moratorium on CHD activities that could disrupt the implementation of the campaign shall be extended until June 16, in order to improve the supplemental immunization activity coverage of Western Visayas, Suba- an added.
LGUs in Negros Occidental that logged the required 95 percent accomplishment were Himamaylan City – 103. 88 percent; Murcia – 103.05 percent; Silay City – 99.65 percent, Talisay City – 97.55 percent, and Kabankalan City – 94.47 percent.
Overall, a total of 189,126 of the 222,590 kids being targeted for vaccination have already been inoculated, as of May 26.
However, the province has to vaccinate 23,212 more kids and infants to achieve the 95 percent for herd immunity.*
