Fully-immunized children in PH decline over the past years - DOH


Immunization continues to be a challenge for the country, as the Department of Health (DOH) disclosed that in 2022, the target of fully vaccinating 95 percent of children was not attained reaching only 59.9 percent.

2 Quezon towns begin pediatric vaccination
MB file photo

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire defined a fully-immunized child as one who has received one dose of BCG vaccine, three doses of oral polio vaccine, three doses of pentavalent vaccine, and two doses of measles-containing vaccine.

However, she stated that this decreasing trend can be attributed to several factors. Vergeire provided the data during her presentation at the Immunization Summit 2023 on Thursday, Aug. 17.

One of the factors she indicated was the differences among all the country's regions, stating there would be regions which have reached around 72 percent like Metro Manila. 

"There would be regions which have lower than 50 percent accomplishment. So aside from the aggregate accomplishment of 59.9 percent, we would also like to focus on addressing the differences between and among regions because of the different settings and circumstances in our regions," she explained.  

"The burden of vaccine-preventable diseases is greatly influenced by the accomplishments and uptake of our childhood vaccinations as well as of course the strength of its immunization program," she added.

In her presentation, Vergeire showed that both morbidity and mortality due to vaccine-preventable diseases have significantly declined after the introduction of the government's immunization program in 1976.

In a separate interview, Health Undersecretary Eric Tayag said that there are approximately 700,000 children who are tagged as "zero dose" when it comes to the measles vaccine based on data from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

National Immunization Program

According to Vergeire, preventive programs such as immunization are among the foundations of a public health system. She said that through the country's national immunization program, many milestones have been achieved. 

She said that the national immunization program started in 1976, covering only six vaccine-preventable diseases: tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and measles.

"Now we have expanded the program to include 14 vaccine-preventable diseases encompassing all life stages from pregnancy to old age. The core of the National Immunization Program today remains to be routine vaccination for children zero to 12 months old," she explained.

Occasional outbreaks


Vergeire said that during the early 1980s, large numbers of vaccine-preventable diseases were recorded every year, particularly measles and pertussis. By the mid-1990s, the number of cases and deaths have sharply declined. Notably, the country was certified to have eliminated polio in 2000 as well as maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination in the year 2017. 

"Despite our success in reducing the burden of these vaccine-preventable diseases, occasional disease outbreaks continue to occur locally," she mentioned.

 In the last decade, measles outbreaks occurred in 2014, 2018, and 2019. In 2019, we had our first poliovirus outbreak since our polio-free status in 2000. On June 3, 2021, the country officially conducted the polio outbreak response. This was after no new virus was detected in 16 months as a result of our comprehensive outbreak response actions, including intensified immunization and surveillance activities. 

These occasional outbreaks highlight the country's long-standing problems of under-vaccination, untimely administration, and failure to reach and maintain herd immunity levels.