ALL is set for the second round of the “Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio” program that will start today, November 25, in the National Capital Region and Mindanao.
Held by the Department of Health in cooperation with the Philippine Red Cross and other health agencies, the program intends to give oral polio vaccine to 50,000 kids aged 5-and below. The immunization program will run up to December 7.
Seven cases of the dreaded polio virus that was supposedly eradicated in 1999 have been reported by the DOH since last September, and at least two more possible cases are being monitored in Mindanao.
“PRC staff and volunteers are working intensely to achieve a polio-free Philippines. PRC is going an extra mile in giving vaccines to kids 0-5 years old. We conduct house to house visits to ensure that every child will be given OPV and be protected from Polio virus,’” PRC chairman and Sen. Richard Gordon said in a statement.
He said the immunization will be administered by teams of PRC trained staff and volunteers. Each team consists of the leader, the vaccinator, the recorder, and the health educator or hygiene promoter.
During the first round of immunization from October 14 to October 27, 62,843 children were given the vaccine in 27 cities and municipalities across the country.
“With the continuous efforts of PRC, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nation Children’s Fund, World Health Organization and the Department of Health, soon we will be a polio-free country again,” Gordon said.
