Metro antipolio drive ongoing until Feb 7

MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has urged parents of children under 5 years old to have them vaccinated against polio as the Department of Health (DOH) resumes the Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio (SPKP) campaign in Metro Manila on Monday.

“Have your children, including those with private physicians or pediatricians, vaccinated with oral polio vaccine by health workers and ‘bakunators.’ The outbreak must be put to a halt, and we can only do this if all our health facilities are achieving the targets,” Duque said.

The antipolio drive will run from Jan. 27 to Feb. 7. Earlier this month, the number of confirmed polio cases in the country rose to 16, including one from Quezon City. Last week, the DOH also resumed its SPKP in Mindanao which will run until Feb. 2.

According to Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo, the response from people in Mindanao has been positive.

“We are meeting our targets. We are at [over] 60 percent in just four days,” he said. Domingo added that the vaccination target in Mindanao and Metro Manila remained at 95 percent. —TINA G. SANTOS