DESPITE extending the measles-rubella (MR) and oral polio vaccine (OPV) immunization campaign by another 15 days, the Department of Health (DOH) still failed to reach its target to inoculate 95 percent of their targeted children against the vaccine-preventable diseases.
Based on the June 15 data of the DOH, the supplemental immunization campaign only accomplished 84.28 percent of the target for the MR vaccines, which means that only 8,178,564 out of the 9,704,231 children 9-59 months old were given the MR vaccines.
On the other hand, the OPV drops were distributed only to 81.92 percent of the targeted children, or 2,348,327 out of the targeted 2,866,533 children 0-59 months old.
The DOH set a target of 95 percent for the nationwide campaign to vaccinate children against measles, rubella, and polio.
It launched the month-long MR-OPV immunization campaign on May 1 and extended it until June 15 to ensure that “all other targeted unvaccinated children will be vaccinated.”
On Wednesday, the DOH reported that Ilocos Region fell short of the goal to inoculate 95 percent of their target children against measles, rubella, and polio.
In a statement, the DOH — Ilocos Region said they were able to only reach 91 percent of the vaccination coverage for the MR and 85 percent coverage for the OPV drops.
“There are a total of 378,396 out of the 416,762 target children, who received MR vaccination,” said DOH – Region 1 Director Paula Paz Sydiongco.
“Our count also showed that 162,687 out of the 190,603 children in priority areas received their OPV vaccines,” she added.
Despite this, Sydiongco expressed confidence that the region can still close the gap since those who were not able to have their children vaccinated during the vaccination drive may still do so through their local health centers.
