MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Philippines — To stop the possible resurgence of the polio virus after the recent discovery of polio cases in the country, health officials have set to vaccinate 134,411 children under 5 years old in Lanao del Sur province during the first round of the “Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio” launched here on Monday.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who led the kickoff of the weeklong mass vaccination drive, said the Department of Health (DOH) wanted to cover at least 95 percent of the target number of children for the first round of the health campaign.
“This will not be easy, so we will need everyone’s full participation. I will never stop in reminding everyone the need for us to work hand in hand, side by side, to bring health [services] to all Filipinos,” Duque said during the launching of the antipolio drive at the new provincial capitol complex here.
In Davao City, Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles issued a circular directing all parish priests and chaplains of public chapels to read the DOH’s polio vaccination schedule during Sunday Masses until January next year.
In its announcement, the DOH confirmed the reemergence of polio in the Philippines after the detection of the virus from sewage in the waterways of Manila and Davao.
The agency cited this in conducting three rounds of synchronized polio vaccination in the country to immunize all children under 5 years old.
“Davao City is the priority area in Mindanao,” the DOH announcement said. —Reports from Divina Suson and Germelina Lacorte