Despite the pandemic, health facilities in the country will continue vaccination programs, says Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire. The announcement was made in response to an assessment conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Measles & Rubella Initiative.
The assessment showed that 117 million children run the risk of missing their measles vaccination, and that the Philippines was one of the 13 countries to postpone their measles vaccination program in light of the pandemic. WHO’s data also showed that the country currently has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 and measles cases in Southeast Asia.
In February last year, the country witnessed a measles outbreak as vaccination rates for measles dropped to 32 percent. Although the Department of Health was able to prevent the spread of the disease, the number of confirmed cases in the country tripled.
[READ: We’re seeing an epidemic of measles—a “completely avoidable” disease]
“We continue to vaccinate our children aged 0-12 months as part of our policy that vaccination and other essential health services should continue even with the COVID-19 pandemic,” Vergeire stated. Notably, the health official did not mention how parents and guardians could access health services given the suspension of public transportation due to the lockdown.
Header photo by Marianne Bermudez of Inquirer.net
Get more stories like this by subscribing to our weekly newsletter here.
Read more:
We’re seeing an epidemic of measles—a “completely avoidable” disease
Drivers out at EDSA despite ECQ ticketed after moderate traffic ensued