By Mario Casayuran  Senator Richard J. Gordon on Thursday urged the Department of Health (DOH) to undertake urgent efforts to increase measles vaccination coverage. PREPARING FOR MORE MEASLES CASES – A measles care unit is set up in the compound of the San Lazaro Hospital to handle additional cases of the disease.
(Jansen Romero/MANILA BULLETIN) Gordon made the call after noticing a gap in vaccination coverage in the country steadily widening since 2014, a development that contributed to the current measles outbreak in Metro Manila and in some regions in Luzon and parts of the Visayas. Measles vaccines are safe, he added. During the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Response Cluster Meeting held recently, Gordon, chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) , said the DOH should boost its information drive on the importance of immunization to close the gaps in vaccination coverage. “What you need right now is a call to arms to make sure that everybody is conscious of the need to immunize and that kids must be immunized. The vaccination gap should be closed. You have to exert more effort to dispel the peoples’ ungrounded fears about vaccination. You have to make the public understand that they should not fear and disregard the vaccines included under the Expanded Program on Immunization because these vaccines are safe,” he said. Gordon noted that while the Dengvaxia controversy might have contributed to the significant drop in vaccine confidence last year, a declining trend in vaccination coverage has already been noted since 2014. Of the total measles cases recorded, 66 percent are unimmunized with measles vaccine and 33 percent has unknown doses. For 2019, an estimated 2.6 million children under five years are susceptible for measles infection for the past five years. Measles is a serious and highly contagious disease. It can cause debilitating or fatal complications, including encephalitis (an infection that leads to swelling of the brain), severe diarrhea and dehydration, pneumonia, ear infections, and permanent vision loss. Babies and young children with malnutrition and weak immune systems are particularly vulnerable to complications and death. The disease is preventable through two doses of a safe and effective vaccine. “Parents should be made to understand that by having their children inoculated with vaccines under the EPI, they are protecting their children and communities against devastating, but entirely preventable diseases,” Gordon said. Vaccination drive In Quezon City, the Quezon City Health Department (QCHD) has conducted anti-measles vaccination drives in several barangays and health centers. As early as January after receiving reports of the rise of measles cases, the QCHD immediately responded with vaccination drives and information campaigns. Health experts believe the measles outbreak could last until March. QCHD chief Dr. Verdades Linga explained the vaccination drives are part of the city’s outbreak response immunization (ORI) plan to ensure that children ages six months to five years old received free measles immunization. “Mayroon tayong binibigay na additional na bakuna kontra tigdas upang maiwasan natin ‘yung transmission ng virus (We are providing additional vaccination for measles to prevent the transmission of the virus),” Linga said. As of February 12, the QCHD has already vaccinated 14,151 children throughout the city. Aside from immunization, the children also received vitamin A and deworming tablets. “Magaan sa pakiramdam at masaya kami kasi hindi na kami mangangamba sa mga nababalita tungkol sa tigdas. Masaya na rin kami na may ganitong libreng bakuna (We are relieved and elated since we do not have to worry about the news about measles. We are also happy that there is a free-vaccination program),” said Narsita Agdon, a grandmother of two children who were given immunization shots. The QCHD is urging all parents of children six months to five years old to have them vaccinated as soon as possible in the nearest health centers. “Bakuna pa rin ang makakapigil sa pagkalat ng sakit, lalo na ngayong may outbreak (Vaccination is still the option to prevent the spread of diseases especially if there is an outbreak),” Linga stressed. (With a report from Chito A. Chavez)