The Philippine Pediatrics Society (PPS) – Davao City Chapter pledged support to the Davao City Health Office’s (CHO’s) free mass supplemental immunization program for children aged zero to 59 months.
The immunization program, which will protect against measles, rubella (German measles), and polio, will run from May 2 to 31.
CHO officer-in-charge Marjorie Culas, during Thursday’s (April 27) Madayaw Davao program of 87.5 Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR), said she met with the PPS Davao City chapter and requested their help in intensifying the city’s free supplemental vaccination program.
“Nidangop ko sa ilaha kay naug kaayo atong vaccination sa pediatrics population. Kung pwede isa kini sa ways forward nato nga manghatag ta’g bakuna sa ilaha unya magbakuna pud sila sa ilahang mga clinics (I turned to them because our vaccination in the pediatrics population is very low. If possible, this is one of the ways forward for us to give them the vaccine and then administer it in their clinics),” Culas said.
She said collaborating with private pediatricians would boost the immunization coverage of Dabawenyo children.
The CHO chief said, “Ubang ginikanan ngadto gyud musalig sa private pediatricians, dili sila musalig sa atong mga personahe. Dili nato malikayan kung gusto nila didto sila magpabakuna sa ilang mga anak (Some parents have more trust in private pediatricians than in our personnel. If parents want to have their children vaccinated by private pediatricians, we cannot prevent them from doing so.).”
The CHO chief also sought permission from the Department of Health to allocate vaccines to private pediatricians. Once finalized, children aged zero to 59 months can get vaccinated in private pediatrician clinics, which will be supplied with free vaccines and syringes.
The PPS Davao City also assured they wouldn’t charge any professional fees when immunizing children against measles, rubella, and polio as it is their way of contributing to CHO’s immunization target.
Mass supplemental immunization is aimed at providing additional protection for children. The vaccines will be available at the city’s 18 district health centers and barangay facilities, while barangay health workers will also conduct house-to-house immunization.
The immunization program aims to vaccinate 561,799 children under five with the measles vaccine and 189,995 children with the oral polio vaccine.
The CHO also aims to maintain the polio-free status of Davao City. CIO
