More than 21,000 children below five years old in Taguig City have received free vaccines to help them fight the deadly poliovirus.
National Immunization Program city coordinator Dr. Jennifer Lou de Guzman said her team, in close coordination with various agencies and the city government of Taguig, have also started making the rounds in barangay health centers and houses throughout the city for two weeks, to ensure that every resident is given bivalent oral polio vaccines for free.
The campaign, according to De Guzman, was in partnership with St. Luke’s Hospital and Medical Center – Bonifacio Global City, Medical Center Taguig, Taguig City Medical Society through Cruz Rabe Hospital, Philippine Army, Philippine Navy, Philippine Marine corps, Philippine National Police, UNICEF, and the Philippine National Red Cross.
The activity is pursuant to the Department of Health’s Memorandum No. 2019-0318 reiterating the conduct of the Synchronized Oral Polio Vaccination from Oct. 14 to 27 (first round of vaccination) and Nov. 25 to Dec. 7 (second round of vaccination) in the National Capital Region.
De Guzman said a total of 16,667 residents were vaccinated on the first day of the event.
The City of Taguig, through its City Health Office, has been providing free routine oral polio vaccines all year round.
Other vaccines that are currently offered for free at barangay health centers include the BCG vaccine, Hepatitis B vaccine, Pentavalent vaccine or 5-in-1 vaccine, Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type B) vaccine, DTP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis) vaccine, and Pneumococcal vaccines for senior citizens.
The DOH last month announced last month that polio is re-emerging in the Philippines, 19 years after the country was declared polio-free by the World Health Organization in 2000.
Polio is an infectious disease that spreads rapidly. It can cause paralysis and, on rare occasions, can be fatal. There is no cure for polio—it can only be prevented with multiple doses of polio vaccines that have long been proven safe and effective.
One polio case was confirmed in a 3-year-old girl from Lanao del Sur. Aside from the confirmed case, a suspected case of acute flaccid paralysis is awaiting confirmation.
In addition, the poliovirus has been detected in samples taken from sewage in Manila and waterways in Davao as part of the regular environmental surveillance. The samples were tested by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and verified by the Japan National Institute for Infectious Diseases and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.