ILOILO CITY – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. called out Western Visayas region for its low vaccination rate during the third State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 22.
TODDLERS and children are immunized in Santa Barbara town, Iloilo province. (DOH-6)
“Tuloy-tuloy ang ating paghahabol sa pagbabakuna ng mga sanggol at mga bata. Lalo na sa Region 6, kung saan kulang pa sa kalahati ang nababakunahan (We are trying to catch up with vaccinating babies and children, particularly Region 6 where less than half have been vaccinated),” said Marcos.
The President was referring to the low vaccination rate in the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) of the Department of Health (DOH).
During the SONA, the President reiterated the need to catch up in vaccinating infants and children.
Aside from Western Visayas, the President also mentioned the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) for its low vaccination rate.
The DOH-6 Western Visayas has yet to issue a statement regarding the President’s statement.
But DOH-6 Regional Director Dr. Adriano Suba-an admitted to the Iloilo media the low vaccination rate in the region comprising of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental provinces as well as the highly urbanized cities of Iloilo and Bacolod.
Speaking at the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas hosted by the Philippine Information Agency-6, the DOH-6 earlier noted that it has not been able to reach its 95 percent target immunization.