INOCULATED. A child in Parang, Maguindanao del Norte, gets an anti-measles shot from barangay health workers on Monday (April 22, 2024). Officials from the BARMM health ministry said the anti-measles campaign in the region that started on April 1 will continue until May 10, 2024. (Photo from Parang RHU)
COTABATO CITY – The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao's (BARMM) massive anti-measles vaccination program is nearing its target of about 1.3 million children, health officials said Monday.
Zyrus Dabuco, the Ministry of Health (MOH)-BARMM immunization program coordinator, said that as of April 20, around 1,034,841 children 10 years and below had received anti-measles vaccines, which accounted for 75.5 percent of the target 1,371,284.
"We will continue the vaccination until next month," Dabuco said during the MOH-BARMM radio program titled "Suara Kalusugan."
MOH-BARMM could hit the target since the vaccination is still ongoing with minimal hesitancy on the part of their parents due to the support of the region's religious leaders, he added.
Dabuco said the MOH-Measles Outbreak Response Immunization that started on April 1 will continue until May 10.
Since Jan. 1, MOH-BARMM has listed 905 measles cases, with four deaths in the region. The number of deaths due to measles remained at four. (PNA)
