Vaccination is said to be a practice that dates back to the 17th century in China. With medical advancements, milestones, such as the development of smallpox vaccine by Edward Jenner and rabies vaccine by Louis Pasteur, the practice became more widespread.
Over the next few centuries, technological changes enabled us to prevent 23 diseases through vaccines. Despite doubts and controversies, vaccination has still proven itself through time as a safe and cost-effective investment for health.
Believing in the health and societal benefits of vaccination, the Philippine government, as well as private organizations have accepted and adopted this practice as part of preventive medicine.
To improve the country’s immunization coverage rate and protect more Filipinos from vaccine-preventable diseases, Sanofi Pasteur Philippines in 2012 launched a program called Bakunadong Pinoy.
Dr. Ruby Dizon, medical director of Sanofi Pasteur Philippines, said Bakunadong Pinoy aims to bring vaccination at the forefront of healthcare discussions among doctors and other stakeholders in the immunization community.
Health-care professionals, such as pediatricians and internal medicine doctors, from different parts of the country have been gathered through “Bakunadong Pinoy Summits” to enlighten them on the benefits of vaccination in the Philippine society and how they can be part in the health preservation of many Filipinos.
“By holding scientific events centered on vaccination, we hope to increase awareness and understanding about the value of immunization as a way of protecting the Filipino people against vaccine-preventable diseases. With improved knowledge, health-care professionals and other key stakeholders, we will be able to implement strategies that can ultimately increase vaccination coverage rates,” Dizon said.
Dizon said Sanofi Pasteur has been able to reach out to doctors and health care providers through these summits, which provide a proper venue for the discussion of not only the more commonly known infectious diseases, such as dengue, rabies and influenza, but also the ones most Filipinos are not aware of, like mengingococcemia and Japanese encephalitis.
Participants have given positive feedback, saying they have increased their level of understanding about vaccination through Sanofi Pasteur’s top-notch expert speakers.
As of 2015, nine Bakunadong Pinoy summits have been held in Manila, South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Sanofi Pasteur aims to continue this endeavor to reach more health care professionals in the country.
“We plan to continue holding Bakunadong Pinoy sessions as our way of contributing to the effort of eradicating vaccine-preventable diseases here in our country. An improved knowledge will help the stakeholders craft better strategies to improve the immunization coverage in the country and to protect as many Filipinos as possible,” Dizon said.
Sanofi Pasteur has also partnered with the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination in holding the summits to make sure they are able to reach a diverse audience and bring forth the agenda of immunization as a public health issue.