DOH-7 notes 13% drop in kids being immunized this year 

Ruff Vincent Valdevieso, Expanded Immunization Program Coordinator of DOH-7, says immunization of children is important. | CDN Digital photo | Futch Anthony Inso

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Department of Health in Central Visayas or DOH-7 emphasized the importance of having children immunized after the health agency recorded a 13 percent decline in eight months this year of children, who availed of immunization in different health centers in the region, as compared to last year’s figures for the same period.

Ruff Vincent Valdevieso, Expanded Immunization Program Coordinator of DOH-7, said immunization of children would be especially important if the public would already be permitted to go out of their houses and they had not undergone a single immunization.

Valdevieso, however, could not give the exact figures last year and that only that there was an estimated 13 percent decrease of children since January this year who availed of immunization in the region.

He said that if these would continue they were afraid that this might result in outbreaks of different vaccine-preventable diseases such as polio and measles.

“Mao na siyang pag-start sa pandemic, na-forsee na nato nga there might be a possible outbreak. So that is why, as part of the prevention, pagsugod pa lang daan sa atong pandemic, we exert effort. Ni-inform ta sa atong mga service provider sa communities, sa LGUs, that they have to continue because there is a risk for an outbreak once, mahuman nani atong pandemic,” Valdevieso said.

(That is why at the start of the pandemic, we have foreseen that there might be a possible outbreak. So that is why, as part of the prevention, at the start of the pandemic, we exerted effort. We informed our service provider communities, the LGUs, that they have to continue because there is a risk for an outbreak once, the pandemic will end.)

Based on DOH records, from January to August this year, they were only able to immunize 47,317 children in Central Visayas out of a target population of 163,262.

According to Valdevieso that the implementation of lockdown in the ealry part of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has contributed a lot in the decrease of their immunization accomplishment.

“Nagka-anam-anam naman hinoon ta ug kabalik ug increase sa atong accomplishment. After atong nag-declare ta ug pandemic, so there is a decline in the immunization since nag-stay at home ang mga tawo ug dili pagawson ang mga bata,” he added.

(We are slowly returning to increasing our accomplishment. After the pandemic was declared, there is a decline in the immunization since the people stayed at home and the children were not allowed to go out.)

He said that their central office had also issued a memorandum to continue the administration of vaccines to children since it was one of the essential services of the agency.

Other Municipal and City Health Offices even implemented a house-to-house vaccination during the implementation of lockdowns due to COVID-19./dbs