DAVAO CITY—The City Health Office has urged all parents to have their children, especially newborns, vaccinated in any of the district and barangay health centers in the city, an appeal raised to counter the skepticism that was mainly triggered by the controversial vaccine against the dengue virus in 2016.
The CHO said the Philippine National Immunization Program of the Department of Health (DOH) has recommended a set of vaccines and schedule to follow “to ensure maximum protection of a child against diseases, while assuring their bodies can properly handle the antigens in the vaccines.”
Under the DOH program, a newborn must be administered with the BCG Vaccine (Bacillus Calmette—Guérin or Tuberculosis vaccine) and the Hepa B Vaccine at birth.
At six weeks old, an infant can be given the PENTA vaccine which fights Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenzae Type B diseases. They can also be vaccinated against polio with the Oral Polio Vaccine, which is given in three doses, as well as the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV). Vaccines given in partial are administered in intervals.
A child must be given two doses of the MMR Vaccine (Measles-Mumps-Rubella) at 9 and 12 months.
According to the World Health Organization, a child must be administered with all of the mentioned vaccines at the age of 1, to be considered fully immunized, while one given all mentioned vaccines past 12 months are dubbed a completely immunized.
In 2022, however, the city immunized only 74.4 percent of its target population of children. Of these, slightly half or 56.4 percent were fully immunized, while a low 18 percent were completely immunized.
Vilma Gonzaga, head of the CHO Tomas Claudio District Health Office Head said that while people’s opinion on vaccines was generally favorable, “there are still several skeptic parents who need further encouragement to have their children immunized.”
“There are some who are afraid and they refuse the vaccines but there are only very few of them; maybe in a barangay there are one or two but we monitor them from time to time to try to change their minds,” Gonzaga said in an interview with the City Information Office.
The Philippines experienced a sharp drop in confidence in the regular vaccines for children after the DOH, then under the leadership of Iloilo Rep. Janette L. Garin, implemented a school-based vaccination in 2016 of the Sanofi Pasteur-manufactured Dengvaxia vaccines against the dengue virus.
The program was later blamed for the deaths of 622 children with the manufacturer admitting that it has not conducted a global testing of the vaccine, and irate government lawmakers demanding apology from Sanofi for making Filipinos its “guinea pigs.”
The Dengvaxia controversy triggered a national vaccine hesitancy, forcing many parents to shun regular immunization. A measles outbreak soon occurred.
“We are urging all parents, especially those with children 12 months old and younger, to have their kids vaccinated in the health centers. This is free and accessible in all health centers. All health centers offer immunization because this will prepare our kids against the most common diseases,” she added.
The CHO said all health centers conduct immunization on Wednesdays as specified in the National Immunization Program, which designates every Wednesday as National Immunization Day. Health center personnel in the city also conduct house-to-house vaccinations to track down those who missed their vaccination schedule.