THE second vaccination drive for the bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) concluded with a 108 percent coverage for its target population of children ages zero to 10 in Zamboanga City.

Dr. Dulce Amor Miravite, City Health Office chief, said from February 17 to March 1, they vaccinated a total of 221,917 children with the bOPV as part of the nationwide “Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio” spearheaded by the Department of Health (DOH).

The Sabayang Patak Konta Polio is aimed to contain and eradicate polio in the country.

Miravite said the third round for the bOPV will be held from March 23 to April 4 for children less than 10 years old.

Following a re-emergence of the polio virus last year, the City Health Office has jointly spearheaded several immunization rounds for monovalent (mOPV) and bOPV to eligible children ages five years below for mOPV and 10 years below, regardless of immunization status.

Miravite said for the mOPV, the two vaccination rounds achieved 103 percent (Round 1 - Nov. 25, 2019 to Dec. 7, 2019) and 110 percent coverage (Round 2 - January 20 to February 2).

She said for the bOPV, the first round was held from January 6 – 12, and achieved 105 percent coverage. (SunStar Zamboanga)