DOH undertakes house-to-house measles vaccination

In a bid to bring down the number of measles infection, the Department of Health has undertaken a house-to-house vaccination campaign against the disease. National Epidemiology Center head Dr. Eric Tayag said the house-to-house campaign would focus on areas with an outbreak of the disease, radio dzBB reported on Thursday. Tayag said he has started meeting with program managers for a nationwide measles vaccination program, adding that the house-to-house drive would decrease the incidence of measles in the coming days. A separate report on dzXL radio said the DOH's priority is to vaccinate children six months to six years old. Areas where a measles outbreak has been declared include Moriones and Baseco Compound in Tondo, Manila; Pulang Lupa in Las Piñas; Balabagan in Lanao del Sur; Central Market in Dasmariñas in Cavite; and San Francisco in Quezon province. These areas will be prioritized, but other areas will also be covered by the immunization. 2004, 2007 campaigns Dr. Joyce Ducusin, National Program Manager of the DOH, told GMANews.TV that the strategy they are adopting is the same as that of the 2007 and 2004 campaigns. "This is already a response to the recent outbreak," Ducusin said, adding that the program is already being implemented regionwide. Simply called the Measles Outbreak Response Immunization, the drive started last Wednesday and will last until the end of March. A similar campaign in 2004 called "Ligtas Tigdas" aimed to stop circulation and transmission of the measles virus in all communities. Under this program, health workers were to recruit and prepare "BakunaDOORS" (Vaccination Team) and volunteers for the door-to-door campaign. Although regular immunization for measles has been available at health centers nationwide for years, many fail to take advantage of this service. Free vaccination In an earlier report, Tayag also renewed the DOH’s appeal for parents to avail of the government's free vaccination for their children. "Libre iyon, nakakalimutan lang siguro ng ilang mga magulang natin, sapagkat isa ito sa mga huling bakuna na binibigay bago tumuntong ng isang taon ang bata (The vaccinations are for free and given to infants less than one year of age)," he said. This year's house-to-house immunization will be done free of charge and to be carried out by local government units. Infants and children from 6 to 59 months old will be given the vaccine, as well as Vitamin A. Meanwhile, Dr. Reinard Daluntines, Ducusin's NCR counterpart, told GMANews.TV that the schedule depends on the local government units. "Kanya-kanyang schedule, tapos may monitoring team din kami," he said, adding that they will keep track of who have been vaccinated and where. "Iba-iba, pero halos araw araw sila lumalabas," said Daluntines, citing that for Thursday, the team is at the Tondo 1 area. "Sa routine kasi ng immunization, sa health center ginagawa," Daluntines said, explaining that the purpose for the house-to-house immunization is to contain the virus, which easily spreads. This way, the risk of getting measles is lower, he said. - with Carmela Lapeña/RSJ, GMANews.TV