LUCENA CITY – The SM City here is one of the sites for the Chikiting Ligtas Measles-Rubella and Oral Polio Vaccine Supplemental Immunization Activity (MR-OPV SIA) which will be conducted the whole month of May. The immunization program is in cooperation with Healthy Pilipinas, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO). This mall is one of the 60 mall sites nationwide which remains committed to providing a safer, convenient, and accessible place for the conduct of immunization of SuperKids. "With this, we encourage our shoppers, especially parents with children aged below five-years-old, to get them their supplemental immunization against these preventable diseases in 60 SM malls nationwide,” said SM Supermalls president Steven Tan. This will cater to Lucena City residents and nearby places for children aged zero to 59 months. The “Chikiting Ligtas sa Dagdag Bakuna Kontra Polio, Rubella, at Tigdas” is a nationwide campaign that aims to prevent outbreaks of these vaccine-preventable diseases and to inoculate children aged nine months to 59-months-old against measles and rubella with the vaccination of one dose of Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccine and children aged zero to 59-months-old against poliovirus Types 1 and 3 with one dose of Bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine. Just like all other vaccines in the routine immunization program, getting inoculated against these diseases are free, safe, and effective. Measles, rubella, and polio are highly contagious and can be fatal. In the Philippines, the 2022 year-end report of the Epidemiology Bureau of the DOH documented a 186 percent rise from 2021 in epidemic-prone diseases, particularly measles. Further, the country is also at risk of the re-emergence of polio, according to the report. “The only way we can prevent these life-threatening diseases is through vaccination. We, at SM Supermalls, are giving our full support to the DOH’s campaign by ensuring that our young stakeholders are given the opportunity to access Measles-Rubella and Oral Polio Vaccine (MR-OPV) in the comfort of our malls,” said Tan. With its long-standing commitment to ensuring the health and safety of the public, SM continues to provide not just a safe malling experience to shoppers, but also a convenient and accessible venue where their communities can get vaccinated.