The San Juan City local government together with the Department of Health (DOH) launched on Thursday, April 27, the Healthy Pinas “Chikiting Ligtas” Measles-Rubella and Oral Polio Vaccine Supplemental Immunization Activity in a bid to increase the number of children getting immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases. The event, held at the FilOil EcoOil Centre, was led by San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora, DOH Undersecretary Dr. Enrique Tayag, and DOH Asst. Sec. Dr. Beverly Ho. Also present during the launch were representatives from different organizations including WHO vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization lead doctor Dr. Robert Kezaala, UNICEF chief of communication Nikko Manos Wieland, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Regional Director Maria Lourdes Agustin, Philippine Pediatric Society president Dr. Florentina Ty, and Philippine Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines president Dr. Fatima Gimenez. “Nagpapasalamat ako sa DOH dahil San Juan ang napili nilang lungsod upang ilunsad ang ‘Chikiting Ligtas’ Program (I extend my gratitude to the DOH because they have chosen San Juan for the launch of 'Chikiting Ligtas’ Program). Since you have chosen San Juan, we will make sure to exert all effort to vaccinate our children. Naiintindihan ko bilang ama ang kahalagahan ng pagbabakuna sa ating mga anak kaya sa mga magulang, seryosohin natin ang pagbabakuna laban sa mga sakit na ito (As a father, I understand the importance of getting my children vaccinated; so to all the parents out there, let's be serious in getting our children vaccinated against these diseases)," Zamora said. According to the mayor, around 200 children ages zero to 59 months living in the city were vaccinated against measles, rubella, and poliomyelitis. They also got Vitamin A supplement during the event. The city government also launched different programs such as booths and games during the event to ensure that the vaccinees were happy and having fun. They were also given food. The children also received loot bags courtesy of the LGU as their prize for being brave during their vaccination. As added bonus, the mayor announced that they will also get an additional P3,000 cash so parents can buy vitamins for their children. Representatives from various organizations also shared their messages of support for the endeavor. According to Dr. Ho, the country is included in the top five countries where many children remain unvaccinated. She explained that there is a chance that these children could die due to the diseases that could be prevented by immunizations. She added that they launched the campaign due to the rise in the number of measles and polio cases. "Kaya naman nakikisama tayo sa buong mundo sa Big Catch Up. Libre po ang mga bakuna. Itong buong buwan maghahabol tayo para mabakunahan ang mga bata. Nakikiusap po kami sa mga magulang na magpabakuna 'yung mga bata. At nakikiusap rin kami sa mga LGU na suportahan ang kampanya (We join the whole world in the Big Catch Up. The vaccines are free, and this month we will try to catch up with the number of unvaccinated children. Hence we are asking the parents to have their children vaccinated. And were are also asking the LGUs to support this campaign)," Dr. Ho said. “WHO has observed that up to 100 countries around the world have had a regression in vaccine coverage including the Philippines, and WHO declared that 2023 is the year for catch-up after the pandemic. WHO would like to encourage that all of us unite as one government, and as a whole of society in order to catch up the missed doses of vaccines. With that, we thank the leadership of San Juan and Mayor Zamora for launching this initiative. WHO will commit to accompanying the Philippines in catching up with the vaccines,” said Dr. Kezaala. UNICEF chief of communication Mr. Wieland also said, “I commend DOH, DILG for delivering this much-needed service to children. Patuloy nating gagawin ang lahat para maabot ang 1 milyong batang Pinoy na wala pang bakuna (Let us continue to do everything we can to ensure that we reach the 1 million Filipino children that have yet to be vaccinated)." “As DILG NCR, we are prepared to prime the 17 local government units in the National Capital Region to respond and support the ‘Chikiting Ligtas Sa Bakuna’ activity that the DOH will implement for the whole month of May. You can count on us on our network of LGUs, partners, and stakeholders to help to the fullest extent possible to make this campaign a huge success for the sake of the children,”  Dir. Agustin said. “We thank the DOH for the focus on the immunization and its drive to curb the rise of vaccine-preventable diseases. We reiterate the full support of the Philippine Pediatric Society. We welcome the government’s efforts to address this supplemental immunization activity. We are one with you and all the activities of the DOH," Dr. Ty said. Gimenez stressed that vaccination saves lives. "Tatlo lang ang sasabihin ko sa mga magulang, kapag binakuhanan ang mga anak ninyo, they become protected against that disease. Next, vaccination saves money. And lastly, pag pinabakunahan niyo sila, hindi sila magiging terorista sa mga ibang taong hindi pwedeng makatanggap ng bakuna because their immune system is very low (I only have three things to say to all parents: If your children are vaccinated, they become protected against that disease. Next, vaccination saves money. And lastly, if you have them vaccinated, they will not be terrorists to other people who cannot receive vaccines due very low immune system). With that, we’d just like to say that we are one with you in this fight With that, we’d just like to say that we are one with you in this fight," Gimenez noted. According to Zamora, the DOH is targeting to vaccinate 9.5 million children for the MR vaccine, 11.1 million children for the polio vaccine, and 10 million for the Vitamin A supplement nationwide. In NCR, they are targeting 1 million children with the MR vaccine and 1.1 million children with the polio vaccine. As of 2019, there were almost 50,000 cases of measles, 637 of which resulted in death. There were 37 casualties in 2020, and 589 cases in 2022 with one death. For polio, the DOH has recorded 19 cases and four deaths. In April, UNICEF expressed concern after over one million children in the country failed to receive their vaccines against vaccine-preventable diseases in 2021. According to UNICEF Philippines immunization specialist Dr. Carla Orozco, India registered the highest number of zero-dose children, or those who have not received a single dose of vaccine by the time the child reaches one year old, with 2,711,000; followed by Nigeria with 2,247,000; Indonesia with 1,150,000; Ethiopia with 1,134,000; and the Philippines with 1,048,000. “In the East Asia and Pacific region where the Philippines belong, for 2021, Indonesia and Philippines are the major contributors to the high number of zero-dose children,” Orozco said. The top five regions in the country with the most zero-dose children are Calabarzon (146,160), Central Luzon (99,541), Western Visayas (96,774), Bicol (80,905) and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (75,671), UNICEF data showed. Orozco said that there are a number of factors as to why the country yielded a high number of vaccinated children. "Some LGUs would only have once a month vaccination sessions. And also, there is inadequate tracking of defaulters. Defaulters are those children that have not completed their immunization schedule but they have actually started it -- and that is a usual scenario in the Philippines, they don't complete their vaccination schedule in time. There is lack of regular outreach immunization services, inadequate human resource," the doctor said. Another reason is vaccine hesitancy. "Like religious beliefs, perceptions that vaccines are not important, misinformation -- possible side effects, etc. These have contributed really to the low trust in vaccine's safety and efficacy," she added. The Covid-19 pandemic also halted the routine immunization services of the LGUs. "Because of the urgent need to end the pandemic, the government and all sectors -- the priority, focus is really on the Covid-19 response, which overwhelmed the health system, especially human resources and funding as well. It affected the delivery of essential health services like immunization," Orozco explained.