Fatima Ignacio Gimenez Gwen Pang —RED CROSS
Better late than never.
Doctors and experts are calling on the parents of children who have missed their basic immunization shots to still get them vaccinated and protected from fatal diseases.
The clamor came as the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) noted the “appalling and alarming rise” in the number of children who contracted measles and pertussis due to the low vaccination coverage of children in recent years.
“While timely vaccination should always be the aim, it is almost always better to vaccinate late than never,” Dr. Fatima Ignacio Gimenez, chair of PPS’ immunization committee, said at a press conference last week.
“There are a small number of vaccines for which upper age limits do apply for administration, but for most vaccine-preventable diseases, providing vaccines late will still result in protecting against morbidity and mortality,” she explained, citing the guidance of the World Health Organization.
Despite these vaccines being free and accessible under barangay health centers, the pediatricians noted the low immunization coverage rate in the country.
READ: 1 million pertussis vaccines to arrive in PH by June–DOH
Citing Department of Health (DOH) data, Gimenez said that only 59.3 percent of the almost 2.2 million infants (aged 1 and younger) were fully vaccinated against these diseases.
She warned: “Do you want your child to suffer and contract these vaccine-preventable diseases, or do you want them to infect other children and adults?”
Vaccine initiative
Experts attribute these low vaccination rates not only to the Dengvaxia vaccine scare from 2017 to 2018 but also to the lack of awareness and inaccessibility of these government-provided vaccines.
Parents often complained that there were already no vaccine doses left for their children when they visited their local health centers.
According to the DOH, there were already 453 reported cases of pertussis in the first 10 weeks of 2024—1,870 percent higher than the 23 pertussis cases in the same period last year.
The agency also reported that, as of Feb. 24, 569 measles and rubella cases had been recorded in the country.
Concerned with the spread of the virus that can expose millions of Filipino children to measles, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) will roll out a massive six-month immunization activity.
“We need to act fast. We must vaccinate, isolate and support initiatives to temper the outbreak,” PRC chair Richard Gordon said in a statement on Sunday.
He directed the deployment of volunteers and ensured volunteer emergency and rescue vehicles and motorcycles are sent across the country so children could be vaccinated against measles “at the soonest time.”
He also instructed the immediate setting up of emergency field hospitals. “Our volunteer doctors and nurses will do the vaccination,” he said.
PRC secretary general Dr. Gwen Pang said the nonprofit organization is continuously collaborating with government agencies, particularly the DOH, to address the new health scare.
‘Must be nonselective’
“We have to interrupt the transmission of the virus. With that, the vaccination campaign must be nonselective to ensure everyone is vaccinated,” she said, stressing that initiatives to widen the scope of measles vaccination from 0 to 5 years old, to 0 to less than 10 years old, will significantly reduce the transmission of measles.
Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious bacterial respiratory infection that causes influenza-like symptoms of mild fever, colds and coughs seven to 10 days after exposure. In typical cases, it develops into a dry cough, which ends with a whooping sound as air is inhaled.
Pertussis can be treated by antibiotics, but it is best prevented through vaccination.
Meanwhile, measles is highly contagious. It spreads from infected individuals through the air, especially through coughing or sneezing. It affects all age groups but is more common in children. Symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, and a body rash. At least 16 children died of measles last year.
There is no specific treatment for the virus that causes measles; however, vaccination protects against it. INQ