Mandatory protection

• Councilor wants to push vaccination as a requirement for enrollment

A LAWMAKER is pushing for a mandatory immunization ordinance to compel parents into bringing their children for vaccination.

According to Councilor Mary Joselle Villafuerte, the chair of the committee on health, part of the ordinance will include vaccination as a requirement during school enrollment.

“In this way, parents will be pushed to surrender their children for vaccination as it will be a requirement for enrollment.

I would like to propose that health personnel will man the school during the enrollment period,” Villafuerte told reporters

after the regular session on Tuesday.

She also said that the vaccination requirement will not only be limited to polio vaccines but the whole Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) vaccines. These include all six vaccines to prevent infants and children from acquiring tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and measles.

“All these six vaccines can be availed in health centers for free,” she said.

Villafuerte also called for the support of the Department of Education (DepEd) to boost the proposed ordinance.

“I hope to get the support of DepEd so we can implement this to schools. If I will get the go signal of DepEd we will really include vaccination as a requirement to school enrollment,” she said.

Meanwhile, Villafuerte lauded the health sectors and workers in their effort to achieve the 99.48% coverage for the first round of the Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio. She hopes to exceed the number of coverage in the upcoming round 2 polio immunization drive starting on Nov. 25.

“If we really unite and involve everybody in the community, we can achieve a very high immunization drive,” she said.

Forums and orientations have already been conducted once again to get the commitment of the different sectors to achieve higher coverage.

Villafuerte added that with the help of the barangay officials and the local government units, they may exceed the 187,901 total number of children vaccinated during the first round.