THE Manila City government, through its health department, anounced on Wednesday the third round for the citywide vaccination slated from November 25 to December 7. According to City Health chief Dr. Arnold Pangan, the involvement of village officials is crucial in obtaining the 95-percent coverage of the vaccination. “Importante ‘yan lalo na y’ung nakaraan hindi natin na-achieve ‘yung goal natin na 95 percent (Their participation is important, all the more since we didn’t achieve the 95-percent goal),” he said. Aside from vaccinations inside the town hall, Pangan said field personnel and volunteers will conduct house-to-house vaccination. “Bababa parin po kami at sana tumulong ang ating mga barangay officials para anyayahan ‘yung mga magulang na ilabas ang kanilang mga anak para mabakunahan (we are still going to their respective houses and I hope village officials will encourage parents in their jurisdiction to have their children vaccinated),” he added.Manila Barangay Bureau chief Romeo Bagay for his part, issued a memorandum requiring all village chiefs to “intensify the campaign” against polio. Bagay also urged village chiefs “to ensure that there will be a 95-percent coverage of children under give to be given oral polio vaccine in their areas.” Based from the data of the Manila Health Department, around 160,000 children have already availed the polio vaccines from the city government after two rounds of the synchronized immunization program. In the event that parent were not able to avail the vaccination on the given dates, Pangan reminded they can always head to the nearest health center to be vaccinated. Polio vaccination does not have the risk of overdose and are encouraged to be taken with children 5-years-old and below.
