The Department of Health (DOH) announced over the weekend that its intensified vaccination campaign against measles and rubella will start in January next year.
Dubbed "Ligtas-Tigdas," the vaccination program aims to strengthen efforts to protect children against measles (tigdas) and rubella (tigdas hangin).
The program is expected to prevent child deaths from the two diseases.
The agency said the first phase of the supplemental immunization campaign will cover Mindanao and the Bangsamoro region from January 19 to February 13, while the second phase will extend to Luzon and Visayas in June.
The program will target children with ages six months to five years and protect them against measles, a highly contagious airborne disease that can lead to serious complications and death.
This year, the DOH recorded 4,843 cases of measles-rubella in 2025, with 3,511 cases, or 73 percent, being unvaccinated, 29 percent higher than the 3,748 cases logged in 2024.
The three regions with the highest recorded number of cases are the National Capital Region with 1,027, the Bangsamoro Region with 768, and Calabarzon with 505.
The agency said that vaccinations remain available year-round at designated health centers across communities.