HEALTH professionals here announced yesterday morning that they are expecting an epidemic of measles in the city, this year.
In its daily briefer Monday, City Health Office’s Immunization Program medical coordinator Dr. Ina Grace Chiu said they are expecting an outbreak of measles in the city either starting in March or April.
“We are calling on parents to have their children immunized with measles/rubella vaccines,” Chiu said.
Chiu added that they also called on people aged 14 to 45 years old to get their anti-measles booster shots.
City health officer Dr. Rachel Dilla, during the same presser, told reporters that the city’s measles/rubella vaccination program has been at its lowest for the last two consecutive years.
“That’s why we are expecting an epidemic,” Dilla said.
Dilla pointed out that measles is so virulent that it has a high mortality rate. She concurs with Chiu’s call for parents of children aged two years old to be vaccinated.
In another development, the CHO is also calling on residents to get their Covid-19 booster shots.
As of January 8, across all categories, the CHO has vaccinated a total of only 92,977 people, from July 1, last year to the present, of the 526,613 recalibrated target population.
As for the 60,138 senior residents targeted, only 323 people have been vaccinated.
“Covid is still here. We must not be complacent,” Chiu urged.
While the 71,432 targeted children aged five to 11 years old, some 37,523 children have been fully vaccinated or have a 52.53 percent coverage.
“Children aged five to 11 years old need to be fully vaccinated, especially since the classes are now face-to-face. Even the teachers who are handling them also need to be fully vaccinated,” Dilla said.
The CHO said the Department of Health in Northern Mindanao has given them targets to reach for this year. The CHO needs to achieve 70 percent full vaccination coverage for children aged five to 11 years old and 100 percent full immunization for children aged 12 to 17 years old.
