Preventable diseases
IT is very lamentable that many people, particularly children, still die of vaccine-preventable diseases in the Philippines.
This is due mainly to the reluctance of parents to have their children inoculated, especially after the “Dengvaxia controversy.”
Before, at least 90 percent of children were willing to get the vaccine. However,this dropped to only 40 percent after the controversy.
And no less than Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara said that “until now, to be honest, we haven’t recovered (from that drop).”
We, thus, commend the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Health (DOH) for launching a vaccination drive in public schools.
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa and Secretary Angara launched last Monday “Bakuna Eskwela” at the Dr. Alejandro Albert Elementary School in Manila.
Reports said “Bakuna Eskwela” will focus on measles, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, and human papillomavirus.
Angara said the campaign will last until November as part of government efforts to boost immunization rates nationwide.
Hopefully, the vaccination campaign will overcome the vaccine hesitancy not only in the metropolis but throughout the country.
Dapat lang.
