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Parents urged to have kids vaccinated after new polio cases in January


Health authorities have urged parents and guardians to cooperate in a polio vaccination drive that will be held in Mindanao and the National Capital Region (NCR).

Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio will be conducted in all regions of Mindanao from January 20 to February 2, as well as in Metro Manila from January 27 to February7.

The vaccination campaign intensifies with four new confirmed cases recorded in January, bringing the total cases to 16 across the country.

All new cases of polio are children below five years old from Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat in Mindanao, and Quezon City in NCR.

WHO Representative in the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said the vaccination drive should keep up the momentum to stop polio transmission in the country.

“Enhanced surveillance has enabled us to identify new cases; we must not leave any unvaccinated child behind,” Abeyasinghe said in a statement.

“We must continue this momentum and continue to work together to stop polio transmission in the Philippines,” he added.

In a joint statement, WHO and UNICEF said polio transmission can only be stopped if the immunization coverage reaches over 95% of the targeted children.

Since September 2019, the synchronized polio vaccination campaigns rolled out from November to December of 2019 have reached 1,404,517 children in NCR and 2,937,327 in Mindanao.

“We would like to congratulate the Department of Health, local government leaders and the health workers in Mindanao, including BARMM and NCR on their efforts for reaching 95% or more of the targeted children during the previous rounds,” Abeyasinghe said.

The UNICEF also is working with DOH, WHO and other partners to boost vaccination coverage.

“Despite the promising coverage, the circulating poliovirus still pose tremendous risk to children, until one child remains infected and not fully vaccinated,” UNICEF Philippines Representative Oyun Dendevnorov said.

“Polio has no cure; complete vaccination offers the only chance to protect our children and to eliminate polio from the Philippines once again,” he added. — Joviland Rita/BM, GMA News

Tags: polio, news
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