Since the holidays are fast approaching, one of the best gifts to give lolos and lolas is a gift related to their health and wellness.
Last December 10, the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) and healthcare company MSD in the Philippines collaborated to host a live webinar titled Bakunado, Protektado: Stakeholder Synergies in Building Vaccine Resilient Cities. This webinar was broadcasted to the public live via the LCP Facebook Page.
Given that the gift of health is the best present the community can give to lolos and lolas to ensure that they live their best quality of life, the upcoming Bakunado, Protektado webinar discussed the importance of vaccination in protecting the elderly from vaccine-preventable diseases such as pneumonia.
It also looked at the role that cities play in scaling up vaccination and immunization efforts to ensure the overall health of Filipinos.
Dr. Regina Berba, infectious disease specialist and head of the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) – Hospital Infection Control Unit, provided a lecture on the importance of immunization for the elderly population.
Mayor Nicholas Yulo of Bago City, Negros Occidental, alongside Bago City Health Office head nurse Nona Obando shared their immunization program and good practices for the elderly population in their city. Meanwhile, Mayor Ericson Singson, MD of Candon, Ilocos Sur also shared Candon City’s immunization strategies in the advocacy and implementation of elderly vaccination program. Usec. Myrna Cabotaje, MD of the Department of Health (DOH) also talked about the national immunization program for senior citizens and current government vaccination campaigns for the public.
The webinar was opened by LCP National Vice Chairman and General Santos City Mayor Ronnel Rivera. While the open forum was moderated by LCP’s Executive Director Atty. Shereen Gail Yu- Pamintuan.
For the Filipino elderly, it is provided in the Senior Citizen’s Act that the DOH shall administer free pneumonia vaccination to senior citizens in indigent communities. This law is put into action through the National Immunization Program (NIP) which has made pneumonia vaccination free and more accessible to indigent senior citizens in health centers and local governments across the country.
Under the DOH’s immunization campaign, Filipino senior citizens will be given 1 dose of pneumococcal vaccination at 60 years old and then another dose after 5 years. However, for senior citizens who are 65 years old and above, they will receive 1 dose of the vaccination. The pneumococcal vaccination is administered for free by the DOH.
With most of the ongoing health efforts focused on surviving the novel and deadly coronavirus, it is easy to forget that there are other killer diseases that also deserve serious attention. Pneumonia, for instance, continues to be a major public-health concern around the world. It can affect the quality of life of people in all ages.
Globally, pneumonia is considered the leading cause of death in children and in the elderly. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, pneumonia has accounted for over 57,000 deaths among Filipinos annually within the past decade. In 2016 alone, 57,809 deaths due to pneumonia was recorded, making this disease one of the top five leading causes of death in the country.
Up to now, pneumonia prevails as a health problem despite being preventable through vaccination, and some of the most susceptible are the elderly Filipinos who are 60 years and older. The elderly group is most affected by the deadly disease because of weakened immune systems caused by aging.
Pneumonia is a disease that causes inflammation of the air sacs in one or both lungs. It can be caused by a variety of organisms, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Pneumonia is most life-threatening for infants, the elderly, and people with health problems or weakened immune systems. Symptoms may include difficulty of breathing, coughing, fever, and weakness.
Elderly patients who have pneumonia are more prone to severe complications, hospitalization, and even death due to their weakened immune systems and pre-existing health conditions, such as diabetes, chronic lung, kidney, or heart conditions, among others.
One of the ways to protect the vulnerable populations, such as immunocompromised individuals, and senior citizens, from pneumonia is through vaccination.
Vaccination is among the greatest triumphs in medical history, proven to save 2 to 3 million lives a year or five lives a day. Vaccination prevents and controls infectious diseases and, in some cases, may even eliminate diseases altogether.
Vaccine hesitancy can threaten the progress made by health and local authorities in protecting Filipinos against vaccine-preventable diseases such as pneumonia.
The advocacy campaign called “Bakuna Muna!” led by MSD together with its multi-stakeholder partners such as LCP, aims to restore and sustain vaccine confidence in the Philippines, especially in cities.
With this campaign is the pneumonia awareness program for senior citizens dubbed as “Bakunado si Lolo’t Lola, Iwas Pulmonya.”
Several local government units (LGUs) have already rolled out the Bakunado si Lolo’t Lola, Iwas Pulmonya awareness campaign by providing disease awareness lectures and information, education, and communication (IEC) materials for the elderly. LGUs have also been working with the DOH to provide free vaccination for indigent senior citizens.
Immunization remains an important component in fighting diseases like pneumonia. By properly educating cities and communities, more people can better understand the benefits of vaccination and its role in disease elimination which is valuable in fighting for a future where no Filipino needs to suffer unnecessarily from vaccine-preventable diseases.