138,000 infants inoculated

The Department of Health has given over 137,701 infants immunization boosts that would help safeguard them against polio, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, hepatitis B and human papillomavirus.

With only 137,000 infants targeted for immunization in Metro Manila, the DoH exceeded its target by inoculating an additional 701, bringing the total coverage rate to 100.48 percent.

The 10-day catch-up immunization dubbed “Vax-Baby-Vax,” which seeks to protect infants 0-12 months of age in the metro, was launched on 7 November in coordination with local government units.

“We are very proud of this achievement not because we exceeded our target, but because having done so means that we were successful in protecting our children against debilitating but easily-preventable diseases,” DoH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Tuesday.

The campaign aims to boost immunization coverage, particularly among infants who missed their routine immunization due to the Covid-19 pandemic and are thus vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases, or VPDs.

The latest data on immunization coverage showed approximately 1.4 million Filipino children born during the pandemic have yet to receive a single vaccine dose.

Manila had the highest coverage rate relative to its respective target population, with 28,073 immunized infants, or 130 percent, followed by Quezon City, with 23,732 infants, or 129 percent, and Parañaque City, with 10,803 infants, or 122 percent.

Vergeire, on the other hand, urged parents whose infants missed their routine immunization schedule due to Covid-19 restrictions.