DAGUPAN CITY, Sept. 2 (PNA) — Mayor Belen T. Fernandez led the launching on Tuesday of the “Ligtas sa Tigdas” campaign here aiming to immunize some 24,000 children in 31 barangays for a period of one month.
The program is part of the Department of Health’s “Ligtas sa Tigdas” campaign, which calls for the simultaneous mass immunization of Measles-Rubella (MR) Vaccine and Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to eradicate these diseases in the country through the “Reaching Every Purok” strategy.
Under the program, DOH, through the City Health (CHO), aims to vaccinate 95 percent of all children who are at risk of contracting measles and polio.
Infants and children aged 0-59 months are to be given oral polio vaccines, while measles vaccines will be given to children aged 9-59 months.
Aside from setting up a fixed immunization area for each barangay where the vaccination team will provide sufficient monitoring, the CHO will also conduct rapid coverage assessment in each household to check if there are missed or unvaccinated children.
Dr. Leonard Carbonell, city health officer, said that the CHO targets to provide vaccines to more than 24,000 infants and young children during the one-month period. He added that they will also particularly focus on far-flung and high-risk areas, to prevent measles outbreaks.
Carbonell said that although there has been zero case of polio in the Philippines, the campaign intends to maintain the county’s polio-free status.
Mayor Fernandez stressed the importance of having infants and young children receiving the needed vaccines to strengthen their immunity, in a bid to achieve an all-around healthy Dagupan City.
“I hope that parents and guardians will bring their children to be vaccinated this month to make sure that they will be protected from preventable diseases like measles and polio,” said Fernandez.
Parents of infants given the free vaccines were grateful for the program which helped boost their children’s immunity.
Different civic organizations, such as the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, Pangasinan Medical Society, and Philippine Pediatrics Society-Northern Luzon Chapter have also partnered with the LGU for the immunization program. (PNA)