CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Governor Lilia Pineda recently urged parents, especially mothers, to have their children vaccinated amid the measles outbreak reported in Central Luzon by the Department of Health (DOH).
“Sa mga magulang, sa mga nanay, payagan na ninyo ang mga bata na mabakunahan kasi ito naman anti-tigdas, dekada na ito at nakakatulong naman talaga (To the parents, the mothers, have your children vaccinated because this measles vaccine is already here for decades and is already tested and effective),” Pineda said.
Pineda disclosed that of the 49,000 children targeted by rural health workers to be vaccinated against measles in 2018, only half of the parents gave consent and agreed to let their children receive the vaccine.
Pineda pointed at the dengvaxia fiasco to have caused the public’s fear and loss of trust on vaccines which led to the rise and an outbreak on measles cases in Pampanga and in Central Luzon.
In 2018, Pampanga recorded 137 cases and five measles-related deaths wherein the highest number of reported cases were reported from Angeles City (16 cases), Floridablanca (15 cases), Lubao (18 cases), Porac (11 cases) and the City of San Fernando with (11 cases.)
The governor said she ordered rural health workers to conduct massive information dissemination among parents on the need for children to get their children vaccinated against measles immediately.
“Ang gusto ko maghouse-to-house talaga kami para malaman ng mga magulang iyong pangangailangan talaga para mabakunahan ng anti-tigdas ang mga bata. Dapat huwag silang matakot (If possible, I want to go house-to-house to inform the parents on the need for children to get vaccinated against measles. They must not fear the vaccines),” the governor said.
According to DOH, the first dose of measles vaccine must be given to infants nine months of age while the second dose at 12 months.
Measles is a highly infectious and communicable disease caused by a virus. This can lead to complications, such as blindness, encephalitis, pneumonia, diarrhea and even death if not properly managed.
Early symptoms includes high fever, cough, conjunctivitis and colds.