The Department of Health has recently warned of a possible outbreak of measles and rubella in Mindanao if the region fails to achieve herd immunity against the diseases, as its data indicates that there are still 520,645 children who remain vaccinated there.
The agency noted that around 2.3 million children, or 82 percent of its target immunization in the region, have received their shots as of February 20. As the agency rolled out its supplemental immunization program against measles and rubella in Mindanao on January 19, it aimed to vaccinate around 2.8 million children.
DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa noted that the current vaccination progress is still not enough to reach the target of vaccinating the 95 percent of children needed to achieve herd immunity.
“If many children are unvaccinated, more of them will get infected, raising the possibility of an outbreak because of vulnerable kids. If 95 percent of children are protected, there will not be an outbreak because the measles will be exposed to the vaccinated children. The virus will not spread,” Herbosa said.
The DOH reminded that routine immunization is still being rolled out in health centers, in coordination with the local government units. It started its vaccination drive in Mindanao, as the region recorded low vaccination rates. It added that the vaccine rollout will begin in Luzon and Visayas in June.
The agency hopes to vaccinate around 11 million children against the diseases across the country through the supplemental immunization activity.
Immunization is a wonder of modern medicine that has effectively stopped infectious disease from infecting and killing millions of human beings, particularly children. However, it is most effective only when a significant portion of the population is inoculated, and that is where the government steps in. As people forget what it was like to raise kids before vaccines took maximum effect, more effort has to be put into education, awareness, and immunization programs to ensure that the population remains protected from disease that had already been eradicated during that short period when herd immunity was achieved.
Hopefully our DOH and the parents whose children need immunization can work together to protect everyone from these preventable diseases.*
