Vaccination by the Mandaue City Health Department in various public schools against measles, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, and human papillomavirus (HPV). | 📸: Mandaue City Health Department Facebook Page
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — The Mandaue City Health Department (MCHD) was able to immunize about 50 percent of the targeted students against measles, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, and human papillomavirus (HPV).
MCHD started its vaccination campaign on October 7 as part of the revival of the School-Based Immunization (SBI) program, dubbed Bakuna Eskwela, initiated by the Department of Education and the Department of Health.
In Mandaue City, the expected number of public school students in Grade 1 and Grade 7 to be immunized against measles-rubella and tetanus-diphtheria is 5,378 and 5,813, respectively.
Around 2,700 female Grade 4 students are also expected to receive HPV vaccines for protection against cervical cancer.
However, Catulong said that after almost two weeks, only about 50 percent of the students had been vaccinated. She mentioned that some parents refused to have their children vaccinated, and some students themselves declined.
Each student is given a consent form to be signed by their parents.
“Unfortunately, naay uban gibutang outright refusal, naa say uban nga estudyante nga niconsent ang parent pero gipang-usab. I think that is the challenge now, because we appreciate the importance of this vaccination. We want as much as possible to cover all the targeted children para dili na gyud sila masakit ani’ng mga sakita,” said Catulong.
One of the students who was vaccinated is the son of Roberto Codiñera, a Grade 1 student at Subangdaku Elementary School.
“Sa wala pa namo gipapirmahi ang consent, gibasa sa namo tanan unya nakita man namo nindot ang effect sa mga bata, maong gihatagan nako og pagtugot. Mas maayo gyud mabakunahan, kay pagdepensa sa immune system labi na karun uwan ug init, ako nag-encourage gyud ko,” said Codiñera who is also a former vice president of the Parent-Teacher Association in Subangdaku Elementary School.
Catulong said they plan to meet again with DepEd to restrategize ways to encourage and educate parents and children about the importance of vaccination.
She explained that some parents are still afraid of the government’s free vaccines, possibly due to the Dengvaxia scare and concerns about COVID-19. Catulong reassured the public that there is nothing to worry about as the vaccines are safe and are the same ones administered when their children were infants.
She emphasized that the current vaccination effort is meant to boost immunity against vaccine-preventable diseases.
“Safe mangyud ang mga vaccines, walay angay kahadlukan. I think need lang sila i-educate balik, clarify their misconception, allay their fears, para makasabot sila sa importansiya sa immunization,” said Catulong.