BAGUIO CITY — The Department of Health – Cordillera Administrative Region (DOH-CAR) has intensified its immunization drive to provide vaccination, especially to children, as the number of measles cases in the region is on the rise.
“It is alarming that the measles cases in the region are reaching the outbreak level, but rest assured that the DOH-CAR is doing measures to combat any impending outbreak,” DOH-CAR Family Coordinator, Moida Jade Binwag, said Wednesday.
Statistics show that from January 1 to February 9, the region recorded 108 cases compared to the 14 cases recorded in the same period last year.
On February 2, DOH-CAR Regional Director Dr. Amelita Pangilinan revealed that 79 cases were recorded from January 1 to February 2.
The February 9 figures marked an increase of 29 cases in one week. No death was recorded in the region.
Binwag said DOH-CAR personnel have begun house-to-house monitoring to be able to reach children who have not availed of the government’s vaccination program. She assured that there will be sufficient vaccines that would cater to all the children.
She also said that health workers are intensifying the services provided in health centers, and rural health units at the grassroots level.
Measles vaccination would be administered with focus on children aged six months to 59 months for the initial vaccine and the booster shot.
The focus on children is due to their vulnerability to the virus.
The DOH would also conduct a “map-up immunization campaign” to reach the “unreached” and the “missed” children in the community. The department’s heightened immunization program will be from February to March.
In a DOH advisory posted on its social media account, the agency announced the massive campaign and urged residents to visit the nearest health center or wait for health personnel who would administer the vaccination.
In an earlier report, the Cordillera region recorded a 508 percent increase in the number of measles cases from January 1 to February 2 compared to the same period in 2018.
Pangilinan said that in Baguio City alone, they have recorded the biggest increase over the one-month period with 56 cases compared to the one case recorded in 2018. **Pamela Mariz Geminiano/ PNA
