POLIO IMMUNIZATION. Personnel from the Mati City Health Office (CHO) administers the Oral Polio Virus (OPV) to a child as the Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio rolled out on Monday, (November 25). The Mati CHO has achieved 40 percent of its target of under 5-year-old kids to be immunized with the anti-polio vaccine the past two days. (Photo from Mati CIO)
DAVAO CITY -- The Mati City Health Office (CHO) has achieved 40 percent of its target of under 5-year-old kids to be immunized with the anti-polio vaccine in the past two days.
Dr. Ben Hur Catbagan Jr., Mati CHO head, said they have serviced 3,637 children with the vaccine since the start of the Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio on Monday.
Catbagan added they have targeted about 17,488 children and aim to achieve at least 80 percent within five days. Catbagan said that based on their data, 1 percent of the target population deferred due to sickness (immunocompromised).
“Two percent of the target population was not at home at the time of the visit while about seven families refused to have their children immunized,” he said.
Meanwhile, a total of 57,737 children received the Oral Polio Virus (OPV) during the first day of the massive polio drive here.
Dr. Josephine Villafuerte, Davao CHO chief, said the total number represents about 31 percent of the total target.
Villafuerte reiterated that the second phase is important because the children who received the first immunization need three more to fully flush out the virus in the system.
To achieve the target, Villafuerte said all areas were and will be covered by their team to ensure that all children will receive the OPV.
She said CHO teams composed of health professionals were deployed in malls, health centers, villages, and even churches to reach out to the public.
During the first round of vaccination, the CHO covered 99.48 percent of children in the city.
The Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio was rolled out after type 2 poliovirus was present in the water sample taken from the Davao River in August.
Another round of vaccination is scheduled for January 6-18, 2020. (PNA)
