By Sarwell Meniano
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Health initiates oral polio vaccination for 334,760 children in Eastern Visayas as part of the government’s ongoing efforts to combat this incurable disease.
These children, aged zero to 59 months, are being targeted for immunization due to missed doses or lack of prior vaccination in the past year.
“The catch-up program in 2024 aims to ensure that at least 95 percent of infants and children aged 0-23 months in all regions receive three doses of bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV), and that at least 95 percent of all 24 to 59-month-olds receive a single dose of bOPV, regardless of their previous polio immunization status,” stated Jelyn Lopez-Malibago, the DOH Eastern Visayas regional information officer, during a phone interview on Wednesday.
This year’s activity is set from March to August, prioritizing communities with a low immunization rate last year.
The 2023 data shows that about 53,830 children (0 to 11 months old) in Eastern Visayas received three or complete doses of anti-polio vaccines, or just 57.38 percent of the target population. Some 69.29 percent and 62.48 percent of children got the first and second doses, respectively.
The DOH has called on health facilities in the region to participate in the catch-up and vaccination against polio for those children with missed or zero doses.
“All stakeholders, including hospitals as well as provincial, city, and municipal health offices, are asked to identify opportunities for providing immunization services in activities with the same target population,” Malibago added.
The health department reiterated that there is no treatment for polio, with vaccination being the only effective way to prevent the possibility of an outbreak.
Polio is a potentially debilitating disease that causes fever, neck stiffness and muscle weakness and can eventually result in lifelong paralysis. (PNA)
