Pateros Mayor Miguel Ponce III urged parents to have their children vaccinated against preventable diseases under the government’s “Chikiting Bakunation Days.”
According to the Department of Health (DOH), the program aims to reach at least one million children who failed to get or have yet to receive any routine vaccination.
It said about 1.4 million children, or more than half of vaccine-eligible children born during the Covid-19 pandemic, have not received any vaccine.
Ponce said the house-to-house vaccination of children aged zero to 23 months will be held from May 30 to June 10.
He said the vaccines that will be administered are oral polio vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine against pneumonia and meningitis, Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine against tuberculosis, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B and pentavalent vaccine.
“What we need to do is let them in and entertain them. They will explain to you the vaccine that your children can receive,” he said about the health workers who will visit homes to administer the vaccines.
He said there will be an interview and screening before the vaccine is given to children.
According to Health Sec. Francisco T. Duque III, “We want to replicate the success of the COVID-19 National Vaccination Drives (NVDs) for routine childhood vaccinations. This is to help improve immunization coverage among the pediatric population.”
The World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) made the pledge to continue providing resources in vaccine management, research and planning.
“To reach every child with life saving vaccines, we need investments in planning and monitoring, human resources, and targeted support for LGUs that are lagging behind. We stand together to make Chikiting Bakunation Days a success for children, and we commend the DOH for the initiative in taking the action in protecting the children,” said UNICEF representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov.
Dr. Rajendra Yadav, acting WHO representative to the Philippines, said, “Vaccines bring us closer to a world where future generations are protected from disease outbreaks and epidemics. We are making vital progress against today’s biggest health challenges, but we must ensure everyone, everywhere can benefit.”