OIC – Undersecretary of Health Gloria J. Balboa and DOH – Iloco Regional Director Paula Paz M. Sydiongco leads the ceremonial vaccination of children and senior citizens during the launching of theย โThe Big Catch-up: Mas Pina-Igting na Pagbabakuna sa Region 1″ย at the Balon Bayambang Events Center in Bayambang, Pangasinan on November 28, 2024
TO further increase the immunization coverage of children in the Ilocos Region, the Department of Health (DOH) launched an intensified campaign dubbed as โThe Big Catch-up: Mas Pina-Igting na Pagbabakuna sa Region 1″ย at the Balon Bayambang Events Center in Bayambang, Pangasinan on November 28, 2024 which will provide Routine Immunization for 0-23 months, and Bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine Supplemental Immunization for 24-59 months childrenโ.ย
Guest of Honor and OIC – Undersecretary of Health Gloria J. Balboa encouraged all stakeholders including local government units to aim for the achievement of 95% immunization coverage in Ilocos to protect the 90,000 zero-dose children in the region.
โSince the start of the campaign there is 4% to 8% percentage point increase in fully immunized child coverage recorded. Kami po ay patuloy na nakikiusap sa lahat na bakunahan at kumpletuhin ang bakuna ng lahat ng mga batang edad 0-59 months upang lahat ay maproteksyonan laban sa ibaโt-ibang sakit.โ
โWe have been vaccinating the population for 40 years at napatunayan po nating ang mga routine vaccination po na gaya ng measles at polio ay nakakapagligtas ng buhay. Kayaโt pumunta po tayo sa ating mga health center at dalhin ang ating mga anak, isama na rin natin ang ating mga senior citizen upang sila rin ay mabakunan para sa kanilang proteksyon,โ Balboa stated.
To support the campaign, the regional office released a Regional Circular 2024-001, providing โInterim Localized Guidelines on the Implementation of Intensified Routine Immunization for Target Population which aims to increase the fully immunized child (FIC) coverage to 95% and to reduce the number of the zero-dose children in the region. This initiative is aligned with the departmentโs 8-Point Action Agenda, which aims to build a healthier, safer, and more resilient population.
In 2023, only 71% or 74,390 infants were fully immunized in region placing it at risk of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). In its partial report as of September 30, 2024, DOH disclosed a total of 45.92% (47,882) FIC coverage accomplishment for Region 1.
Regional Director Paula Paz M. Sydiongco said that with all agencies and stakeholders support, the 95% target will be achieved. โPagtulungan po natin na ibigay ang proteksiyon na kinakailangan ng ating mga anak. Lahat po ng bakuna na binibigay ng DOH ay ligtas, de-kalidad at libre. And we now have vaccines to prevent life-threatening diseases helping people of all ages to live healthier and longer.โ
โThe Big Catch Up campaign also aims to reach unvaccinated children and raise awareness on the importance of vaccination among population,โ she added.
A total of 400 target population were given various vaccines including infants (6 weeks to 12 mos) with BCG, Hepatitis B, bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (bOPV),๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต vaccine, ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ฐ vaccine, ๐ฑ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฐ๐ค๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ซ๐ถ๐จ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ vaccine, ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ฐ vaccine, and ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด–๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ด–๐๐ถ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ข (๐๐๐) vaccine; students (๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ 1 to 7) with ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด–๐๐ถ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ข vaccine ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ถ๐ด–๐ฅ๐ช๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ข vaccine; Female ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ 4 studens with ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฑ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ณ๐ถ๐ด (๐๐๐) vaccine; pregnant women with ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ถ๐ด–๐ฅ๐ช๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ข vaccine; and senior citizens with ๐๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฐ๐ค๐ค๐ข๐ญ vaccine and ๐๐ฏ๐ง๐ญ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ป๐ข vaccine.
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