CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- More than one million children from Central Luzon are set to receive the polio vaccine from the Department of Health (DOH).
In a statement, DOH-Central Luzon said it is targeting at least 95 percent coverage or about 1,347,005 children to be vaccinated in the second round of Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio (SPKP) campaign in the region.
The second round of the campaign, which is conducted in partnership with the World Health Organization and the United Nations, will start September until September 17.
It aims to stop the transmission of the poliovirus type 2 outbreak by giving doses of Monovalent Oral Poliovirus Type 2 (mOPV2) to all children under five years of age, (0-59mo), regardless of immunization status.
Door-to-door/House-to-house vaccinations were done during the campaign while strictly adhering to minimum health standards to prevent the transmission of Covid-19.
Such practices include the daily screening of health workers for Covid-19 risk exposure and signs and symptoms before deployment, wearing of face masks and face shields, frequent hand washing/use of alcohol-based hand rubs and social distancing.
For the first round of SPKP, Central Luzon had coverage of 81.66 percent, vaccinating 1,093,317 children.
In response to this, the DOH is working closely with the local government units and stakeholders in preparation for the second round of the campaign, addressing the special challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, such as those missed children, and those who were deferred and refused vaccination during Round 1.
Polio is a highly contagious disease transmitted through the fecal-oral route. It is caused by the poliovirus and may result in life-long paralysis and even death.
Unlike Covid-19, Polio has a vaccine that is free, safe and effective, but there is still no known cure for the disease and can only be prevented with complete doses of polio vaccines through routine immunizations.