THE Davao City Health Office (CHO) reminded parents of children ages zero to 59 months old, who availed of the free vaccine during the first round of the Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio mass vaccination, to religiously complete the remaining two rounds of the immunization program.

The first round of the mass vaccination, which started on October 14, will end Sunday, October 27.

CHO, in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH) and World Health Organization (WHO), conducted the synchronized immunization in all health centers and house-to-house visits, due to the re-emergence of Polio Type 2 (VDP2) virus in the city, as confirmed by DOH in September.

CHO technical division chief Julinda Acosta said parents must have their children vaccinated again in the remaining rounds of the mass vaccination: November 25 to December 7 (second round), and January 6 to 18, 2020 (last round).

Acosta said children qualified for the vaccination would still be vaccinated with the same oral polio vaccine type 2 (OPV2), which was sourced from WHO.

“Dapat talaga makareceive ng tatlong doses ng polio vaccine para magkaroon sila ng full protection (They should receive three doses of poliovaccine for them to have full protection from the virus),” she said.

As of Wednesday, October 23, the CHO recorded 95.6 percent immunization coverage or a total of 178,577 children have been vaccinated.

Despite not having reached a 100 percent rating, she said the figure already guarantees the protection of the children from the possible virus infection.

“We are also aiming to have a 100-percent immunization coverage for the second and third round,” Acosta said, adding that those who were not able to avail of the vaccine during the first round could still avail it in the following rounds.

Meanwhile, she said the district health office workers are also continuously conducting information dissemination drive to all barangays in the city to convince the public, especially those who continue to refuse availing the vaccine due to various reasons.

She also urged parents to keep their vaccination card for it to be signed right after their child has been vaccinated. She said the card will help them keep track of the child’s vaccination.