TARGET ng Department of Health (DOH) na mabakunahan ang nasa dalawang milyong batang Pilipino laban sa ibang sakit o ‘vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs)’ bilang bahagi ng World Immunization Week (WIW).
Bukod sa mga bata, layon rin na mabakunahan kontra VPDs ang mga ‘adolescents’, mga nasa hustong gulang at mga buntis.
Katuwang ng DOH ang Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS), Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (PSMID), Philippine College for Geriatric Medicine (PCGM), at ang Philippine Nurses Association (PNA).
Ayon kay DOH Disease Prevention and Control Bureau and Health Promotions Bureau Director Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho, hidi naman nabawasan ang banta ng ibang sakit ngayong pandemya. Sa halip, mas nakita pa ang kahalagahan ng bakuna sa lahat ng edad ng tao.
Magsasagawa ang DOH ng ‘catch-up vaccination’ sa pamamagitan ng Chikiting Bakunation Days, tuwing Huwebes at Biyernes ng mga buwan ng Abril hanggang Hunyo.
“We would like to take this opportunity to ramp up our vaccination efforts for routine immunization, while our national cases are declining, and our health system capacity is manageable. This is very important to prevent an additional burden of disease that may be caused by these vaccine-preventable diseases,” ayon naman kay Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire. (Philip Reyes)
