Boosting children’s health through immunization amid Covid-19 pandemic

Leslie is a mother of four children. Her youngest child caught measles and suffered severe coughing. He eventually passed away. If he was protected with vaccine, he would have celebrated his 2nd birthday this year.

The Philippines experienced a Measles outbreak from 2018 to 2019 where more than 70,000 cases and 841 deaths were recorded, mostly children. 

Medical experts say that complete immunization is the most effective way to keep people safe from Measles, and also from Rubella, commonly known as “tigdas hangin”, whose symptoms include fever, rashes, conjunctivitis, head, body and eye aches, chills and anorexia. 

Still, many of them, especially children, do not receive or have not completed immunization so diseases like this remain widespread in the country.

On September 2019, children were put at risk of lifelong paralysis due to the outbreak of Polio, where the virus enters the body through the mouth, by ingesting contaminated food and water. Most infections do not show symptoms, there is no medicine that could cure this and the only protection is through proper immunization.

DOH, WHO, UNICEF to conduct nationwide measles campaign starting October 26

The Department of Health, supported by WHO and UNICEF, will conduct the nationwide measles and polio supplemental immunization campaign starting October 26 this year. In the Philippines, an estimated 2.4M children under the age of five are susceptible for measles. Measles or tigdas is one of the most contagious diseases in the world. Among those who are not immune, up to 9 out of 10 people exposed to the measles virus will contract the disease.

The nationwide Measles Rubella-Oral Polio Vaccine Supplemental Immunization campaign will be rolled out in two phases. Phase 1 will be conducted from 26 October to 25 November 2020 in Mindanao Regions, CAR, I, II, IV-B and V. Phase 2 will be conducted in February 2021 in Visayas Regions, NCR, III and IV-A. DOH is conducting the campaign for children under five years old—around 9.4M children for the measles-rubella vaccine and 6.9M children for the oral polio vaccine.