SOME 550 trained volunteers and staff of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) will be mobilized on Monday as the Department of Health (DOH) will conduct a massive oral polio vaccination.
The DOH will conduct mass immunization on October 14 to 27, 2019, in the National Capital Region and Mindanao areas (Davao del Sur, Davao City and Lanao del Sur).
“Our target number for the children to be vaccinated is 30,000. PRC wants your children to be safe. Vaccines will keep away your children from diseases. It is the most effective way to prevent polio. Together, we can stop the spread of polio,” said PRC Chairman and CEO Richard Gordon. He said the 550 volunteers and staff will be divided into four member-teams composed of a leader, vaccinator, recorder and a health educator/hygiene promoter.
Support items for the mass vaccination activity like dossarts, masks, gloves, alcohol, and vaccine carriers have already been distributed to all PRC chapters in NCR and the selected Mindanao areas.
A Technical Training on Polio and Response Planning Workshop was also held recently as part of the preparations for the “Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio.” PRC has a master list of the children who will receive the vaccination.
Once vaccinated, a record will be made to make sure that no child will miss the two remaining doses of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). These are planned to be administered between November 2019 and January of next year.
Parents will also be briefed about the importance of adhering to all government-required child vaccinations.
Red Cross volunteers and staff will also ensure the parents understand the importance of Oral Polio Vaccine. They will be given information education and communication materials explaining the polio outbreak and its implications, and a general knowledge of vaccination.
The synchronized Oral Polio Vaccine is in partnership with the DOH and with support from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Recently, The IFRC released 336,302 Swiss Francs ($336,700) from its disaster relief emergency fund to support PRC’s house-to-house visit in administering the OPV.
The target number of Red Cross is 20,000 children in Metro Manila alone.