Only 11.7% of children given measles shots

MANILA, Philippines — Typhoon Quinta and a rise in COVID-19 cases among health care workers in Mindanao thwarted the Department of Health’s (DOH) plan to innoculate children in the country after it reached only 11.7 percent of eligible kids after two days of its measles vaccination program.

Dr. Maria Wilda Silva, head of the DOH’s National Immunization Program, said the average vaccination rate stood at only 11.7 percent across the 12 regions conducting the supplemental measles vaccination drive.

Of the 12 regions, only Zamboanga, Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen and Caraga reached more than 16 percent of the target number of kids to be vaccinated against the highly infectious respiratory disease.

Silva said coverage was lowest in Cagayan Valley, Mimaropa and Bicol, the regions most affected by Quinta.

In Cagayan Valley, the vaccination rate over the last two days was at 4.7 percent, while Mimaropa was at 1.1 percent. Bicol had the lowest rate at 0.7 percent.

“These regions were affected by the typhoon, thus some of their provinces postponed or delayed the conduct of the [supplemental immunization campaign] last Monday,” she said.

Since a number of families from these regions are currently housed in evacuation centers, Silva said they were already coordinating with the various local governments to ensure that kids in the temporary shelters would be vaccinated.

In Mindanao, it is only the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that was unable to reach its target as Lanao del Sur opted to postpone to Nov. 3 its vaccination drive due to the “increasing number of COVID-19 cases” among health-care workers.

Silva said Marawi City was expected to roll out its immunization drive a week later, Nov. 9, once the quarantine period of its health workers has been completed.

As of writing, the DOH has yet to provide an explanation of what is driving infections in those areas in Mindanao.