The World Immunization Week was celebrated from April 24 to 30, 2021. It was a most significant and timely celebration now that the world is in the middle of a Covid-19 pandemic that continues to sow fear in people around the world.
There is no better time than now to emphasize how important vaccinations are, not just for Covid-19 but for all diseases treatable through immunization.
This is why a group of stakeholders expressed and reiterated the value of being vaccinated, aside from properly informing the public, even the media, about other health issues even despite a raging pandemic.
In connection with the celebration of World Immunization Week, the Department of Health (DOH), the Pharmaceutical and Hospital Association of the Philippines (PHAP), together with the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) and Philippine Foundation for Vaccination (PFV) presented the 7th installment of Health Connect, to help enlighten the public and other concerned groups regarding this celebration.
The DOH called on both the medical community and the private sector to engage in building a strong and resilient immunization program so that more lives are protected, and that families and children can be together again.
Bringing people closer through vaccines
“Vaccines bring us closer to a world where no one suffers or dies from a vaccine-preventable disease. So in this year’s activities for World Immunization Week, we focused on routine immunization, especially the children who missed their doses during the pandemic. As Covid-19 continues to challenge access to essential health services, the need to provide people with life-saving vaccines becomes all the more critical,” explained National Immunization Program Manager Dr. Kim Patrick Tejano.
In his presentation during the webinar, Dr. Tejano emphasized the value of improving vaccine coverage to prevent the outbreak of vaccine-preventable diseases such as polio and measles so that more children’s lives will be protected.
“The fear of people of transmitting Covid-19 when outside their houses, alongside redeployment of our health workers to respond to the pandemic notably affected the immunization uptake, from 69 percent in 2019 to 62 percent in 2020. The DOH is working towards reversing these figures. The DOH has safety protocols in place to minimize risk of transmitting Covid-19 while continuing the immunization drive against vaccine-preventable diseases like polio and measles,” he assured.
Dr. Samuele Anton Quizon of the DOH Health Promotion Bureau, for his part, highlighted the role of local governments and organized communities, and emphasized the importance of providing an enabling and supportive environment for people to make health-supportive decisions, including the choice to get vaccinated.
So that local decision-makers are better guided in addressing various concerns during vaccination campaigns, the DOH developed the “Health Promotion Playbook on Bakuna Champions” to support and empower local social mobilizers that are trained to address the issue of hesitation against vaccines. “The DOH’s immunization program will only be truly victorious if the public trusts in vaccines, which have already been proven in containing or limiting outbreaks of infectious diseases,” said Quizon.
Do not delay
On the other hand, the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) lauded the efforts of the DOH in their efforts to intensify routine immunization. PPS President Joselyn Eusebio urged parents not to delay their children’s immunization schedule. “One fully immunized child is a step towards a healthier community. We support the DOH in leading a strong collaboration of parents, caregivers, and local leaders to protect more lives against vaccine-preventable diseases,” Eusebio remarked.
Meanwhile, theAsianparent Philippines General Manager and BakuNanay Founder Frances Ang welcomed the plans of the DOH, and at the same time acknowledged her fellow BakuNanays’ role in creating a safe space to discuss vaccines and other health topics. “We founded BakuNanay because we love our children and believe that vaccines will protect them from diseases. We want to be able to offer our children a healthy start to life so that they can be whomever they want to be when they grow up. We want to encourage all moms and caregivers to spread love and show care for their children by having them vaccinated,” explained Ang.
The PHAP and its members are also in full support of the DOH in its initiatives to conduct a nationwide mass immunization campaign despite the challenges of the pandemic, PHAP Executive Director Teodoro Padilla averred.
“As a private sector partner representing the people who develop the vaccines, we stand side by side with the government, our medical community and various organizations in helping protect the people and children from vaccine-preventable diseases. PHAP remains committed to research and development of needed vaccines, and to partner with the DOH, PMA, PFV and our advocates so that vaccines could finally bring us closer once again.”