BACOLOD City – The provincial government of Negros Occidental aims to fully vaccinate 14,000 more children against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP).
Dr. Girlie Pinongan, chief of the Provincial Health Office, said 62 percent of the province’s children population have been vaccinated so far.
The provincial government, Pinongan said, will procure 10,000 vials of pentavalent vaccine.
The Department of Health (DOH) has earlier sent pentavalent vaccine to the province, she added.
The DOH earlier warned of possible outbreaks of other vaccine-preventable diseases in different parts of the country due to low immunization coverage and the high number of children who skipped routine shots.
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa was particularly wary of spikes in cases of diphtheria, tetanus and Haemophilus influenzae B disease, on top of the ongoing outbreaks of measles and pertussis and the growing number of hepatitis B patients.
Under the DOH’s National Immunization Program, newborns may get their three-dose primary pentavalent (5-in-1) shots at six weeks, 10 weeks and 14 weeks in barangay health centers for free.
The DOH further reported that only 72 percent of the 2 million children below one year old were fully immunized — way below the target of 95 percent to achieve herd immunity. (Watchmen Daily Journal/with a report from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)/PN