CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Department of Health (DOH), in partnership with the Provincial Government, is urging Kapampangans to have their children vaccinated against various diseases.
During the Provincial Launching of the Balik Tiwala sa Bakuna Program, DOH Regional Director Cesar Cassion said the campaign is primarily focused on the school-based immunization program.
“This is a platform for the second phase of the measles outbreak response, meant to reach unvaccinated school children aged 7 to 12 years old. Through this, we hope to achieve 95 percent immunization coverage so that children will be protected from diseases,” Cassion said.
The free vaccine is not only limited to measles vaccine but also includes vaccines against tetanus, diphtheria and human papilloma virus (HPV) for Grade 4 students.
He added that in the province, approximately 125,000 schoolchildren are targeted for vaccination until September to achieve herd immunity.
“Once children completed their required immunization, they have the greater chance to live healthy and have a brighter future. However, this can only be achieved if all of us will give our trust to our vaccines because these are proven safe,” he said.
For his part, Governor Dennis Pineda expressed support to the program saying this is one way of preventive healthcare which the provincial government strongly advocates.
“We are appealing for the support of everyone. We at the provincial government will be involved in the program from this launching to the scheduling per school and the identification of sectors that need to be mobilized,” Pineda said.
He also mentioned that HPV vaccine is a priority since cervical cancer is one of the problems in the province.
Meanwhile, Committee on Health Vice Chair Board Member Joseph Anthony Torres cited the beneficial results of the immunization program.
“Because of our trust in our vaccines, we have reached 98% immunization coverage from just 68% last year. We hope that we can continue this kind of partnership to further intensify the program for the benefit of our children,” he said.