DOH: 137,701 NCR babies vaccinated in 10 days

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 137,701 infants, aged 0 to 12 months, in Metro Manila were inoculated against different vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) during a 10-day “Vax-Baby-Vax” campaign of the Department of Health’s National Capital Region (NCR) office, the DOH reported yesterday.

“With only an original total target of 137,000 infants in the region, the DOH-NCR exceeded its target after inoculating an additional 701 infants, thus bringing the total coverage rate to 100.48 percent,” DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a statement.

“Having done so means that we were successful in protecting our children against debilitating but easily preventable diseases,” she added.

According to the DOH-NCR, the three cities with the highest coverage rates are Manila with 28,073 or 130 percent; Quezon City with 23,732 or 129 percent; and Parañaque with 10,803 or 122 percent.

The DOH-NCR vaccination campaign, which was launched on Nov. 7, sought to vaccinate infants who missed their routine immunization due to the COVID-19 pandemic and remain vulnerable to VPDs.

The vaccines include those for polio, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, hepatitis B and human papilloma virus.

Vergeire said that given the success of the NCR campaign, they are looking to replicate the vaccine rollout in other parts of the country.

“We did it in Metro Manila. We will also do this in other regions of the country. We will stop at nothing to reach every Filipino child, no matter where they are in the country,” she said.

DOH data show that around 1.4 million Filipino children born during the COVID-19 pandemic have yet to receive a single routine vaccine dose.

Vergeire called on parents and guardians of infants to allow their babies to get their routine vaccines.

“It is not yet too late to have your infants vaccinated. Don’t wait for them to get sick anymore. Let us allow them to have that needed protection,” she said.