By Jojo Lamaria
BAGUIO CITY, September 8 (PNA) -– This city launched on Monday its month-long vaccination drive against polio and measles targeting some 49,000 children under five years old.
The city’s Ligtas Tigdas drive was launched with the first drops of oral polio vaccine administered by City Mayor Mauricio Domogan and Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda, chairperson of the City Council committee on Social Services, Women and Urban Poor.
Assisting in the administration of vaccines were Department of Health (DOH) Cordillera head Dr. Valeriano Lopez, her assistant Dr. Amy Pangilinan, Dr. Rowena Galpo of the Health Services Office (HSO) and the members of the Baguio-Benguet Medical Society.
Overseeing the activity were barangay officials, and representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
In an interview, Tabanda said more than 1,000 vaccines were dispensed on the first day of the month-long nationwide drive here against the debilitating childhood illnesses.
Other venues are government-run daycare centers, private pre-schools, churches, hospitals and pediatric clinics, making sure that the child’s records are checked for immunity gap, Tabanda said.
Immunity gap occurs when the vaccination dosage is not complete or the booster shot, specially for the anti-polio vaccine, was not administered.
The shot should have been given to the child after 12 to 23 months.
The Philippines was declared polio-free in 2000, yet reports cite isolated wild polio virus outbreaks being spread from other countries.
The WHO said the emerging and re-emerging diseases are an international concern on public health.
Anti-measles, rubella and oral polio vaccines are given to prevent and protect against these communicable yet preventable illnesses.
The illness could be passed on through contaminated food and water.
The DOH is urging parents to bring their children under five years of age to health facilities for vaccination. (PNA)