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Marcos encourages parents to get kids immunized

By GISELLE OMBAY, GMA Integrated News

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has called on parents and guardians to have young children immunized and protected against vaccine-preventable diseases like pertussis, polio, and measles. 

In a vlog, the President underscored the importance of providing affordable and accessible healthcare services to Filipinos, including children. 

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He said that the Department of Health (DOH) has launched an vaccination drive, targeting to immunize kids in their first 12 months. 

“Tulungan niyo kami…kasi minsan ‘yung iba ayaw magpabakuna dahil natatakot sila baka hindi maganda ang bakuna, baka mas lalong masaktan ang bata. Hindi po. Lahat itong binibigay naming bakuna, tested po ito at ilang taon na ginagamit ‘yan,” Marcos said. 

(Help us...because sometimes elders don't want children to get vaccinated because they are afraid that the vaccine might not be good, or that the children might get hurt more. That’s not true. All the vaccines we provide have been tested and used for several years.) 

“Kung meron kayong mga sanggol o maliliit na bata, dalhin niyo po. Meron na tayong vaccination program at ang pinakauna talaga na tinutulungan natin ay ‘yung first 12 months ng bata,” he added. 

(If you have babies or young children, bring them to vaccination sites. We already have a vaccination program and we are targeting children in their first 12 months.) 

The DOH aims to completely immunize 95% of Filipino children against vaccine-preventable diseases. 

In the past year, the Philippines' immunization campaign has shown significant improvement, with the country finally exiting the list of the top 20 countries with the most "zero-dose" children.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines "zero-dose" children as those who have missed out on any vaccination, who "lack access to or are never reached by routine immunization services."

Meanwhile, a fully immunized child is someone who has received one dose of bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine for tuberculosis; three doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV); three doses of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Hib, and Hepatitis B (pentavalent) vaccine; and two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

The DOH is set to kick off a nationwide school vaccination program called “Bakuna-Eskwela” on October 7, expanding the National Immunization Program (NIP).

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said the President fully supports the NIP with an increased budget of P2.3 billion to fund the vaccine acquisition and administration nationwide. — BM, GMA Integrated News