Oro hits 40% polio vaccination target

By Uriel C. Quilinguing, Contributing Editor .

THE city health office here yesterday disclosed that its rapid coverage assistance teams have given out oral polio vaccine (OPV) to 32,914 under-five children, representing 40.5% of the 81,270 target, on the second day of a two-week immunization campaign that started Monday.

This fourth and final round of polio outbreak response immunization will end on Aug. 2.

Acting city health officer Dr. Lorraine J. Nery, in a media briefing at city hall, said that 16,164 were immunized just on first day and that was 19.89% of the eligible population, composed of 59 months old and below.

“There were no refusals and just a few were deferred,” said Nery, and that she witnessed mothers who brought their under-five children outside the house for the OPV, while observing the minimum health standards–social distancing and wearing of face masks.

Members of the RCA team, composed of vaccinator, recorder and guide, would just wait outside the house for the OPV process.

She said that the OPV will not be dispensed to those who are sick, but their names would be included during the mapping out period before the campaign ends.

After two days, the immunized city population are dispersed in the following districts: west (12,182), east (9,689), central (7,681), and highlands (3,362).

Regionwide, director Adriano Suba-an of Department of Health 10, disclosed during an inter-agency briefing that the first-day performance of Northern Mindanao is 21.38% or 124,892 of the 584,077 eligible children. Of the total, 104,302 are aged 12 to 59 months while 20,590 are 0 to 11 month-old babies.

Last year, the first round of polio outbreak response immunization was held Oct. 14-27, second round was Nov. 25 to Dec. 7, and third round last Jan. 6 to 18, this year.

These, after a polio outbreak was declared Sept. 19 last year due to two confirmed polio cases in the country—a resurgence after 19 years of having been declared by the World Health Organization, polio-free.

Fourteen other cases were found later, bringing the total polio cases to 16 and these children are one to nine years old children in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Regions 3, 4A, and 12.

While polio has no cure but it can be prevented with three doses of OPV and one dose of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV).

Polio (also called poliomyelitis) is a crippling and potentially deadly infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. The virus can spread from person to person and can invade an infected person’s brain and spinal cord, causing paralysis.