Department of Health (DOH) Health Promotion Bureau Director Dr. Beverly Ho
MANILA – In order to prevent a potential outbreak of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, polio, and rubella, a health official urged parents on Wednesday to have their children vaccinated against such illnesses.
"We might not get cases this year but we might get them next year," Department of Health (DOH) Health Promotion Bureau Director Dr. Beverly Ho said in a television interview.
Despite a decrease in the vaccine coverage, Ho said the DOH is "not seeing a rise in cases this year due to the practice of minimum health standards such as proper handwashing" to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Ho also announced that the DOH will launch an immunization drive from October 26 to November 25 in the Bicol region, Cagayan Valley, Cordilleras, Ilocos Region, Mimaropa, and Mindanao.
On February 1 to 28, 2021, the DOH will also launch the same campaign in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Visayas.
To ensure everyone's safety amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Ho added that health protocols are in place in immunization centers.
"Adequately protected 'yung healthcare workers natin, mayroon din (Our healthcare workers are adequately protected, there are also) mechanisms to ensure physical distancing and the entire encounter with the health care worker is less than 15 minutes," she said. (PNA)
