Duque leads school-based immunization program in Valenzuela

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Tuesday led the school-based immunization program in Valenzuela.

According to a report by Maki Pulido on GMA News TV's Balitanghali, parents accompanied their children who received vaccine shots from the Department of Health.

Duque underscored the importance of immunization among school-age children to protect them from various diseases. He also shared plans on making it mandatory but acknowledged that this is still up for discussion with stakeholders.

The government's immunization program coverage has previously been affected by the controversial dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.

A measles outbreak was declared in various regions of the country in February.

Four months later, Duque said that the measles immunization coverage has already recovered.

Meanwhile, the number of reported dengue cases is on the rise, according to the DOH.

Data from the DOH showed that there had been 98,179 dengue cases nationwide from January 1, 2019 to June 22, 2019.

The figure is almost double the number of reported dengue cases during the same period last year which was 53,475. —Dona Magsino/LDF, GMA News