The Department of Health and Department of Education kicks off the revived Bakuna Eskwela program at the Dr. Alejandro Albert Elementary School in Manila on October 7, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH) aims to immunize around 4.8 million children currently enrolled in public schools to protect them from vaccine-preventable diseases and prevent the occurrence of disease outbreaks.

At the launch of Bakuna Eskwela in Manila, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said that with the return of full face-to-face classes in all institutions, it would be much easier to protect children from different pathogens — something that proved to be a challenge during the height of the pandemic.

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“Every Friday ‘yung vaccine teams ng local government at DOH pupunta sa mga eskwela. Tapos sana yung mga parents, pirmahan ‘yung parental consent kasi kailangan ‘yun para mabakunahan ang mga anak nila,” he said.

(Vaccine teams of the local government and the DOH will go around schools every Friday. We hope parents would sign the parental consent as it is required in order for their children to be given the vaccines.)

Among the vaccines that will be given to children enrolled from grades one to seven are those that protect against measles, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, and the human papillomavirus for girls in the fourth grade.

Based on DOH data, around 3,356 cases of measles and rubella were logged from January 1 to September 14, 2024, where 11 died. Diphtheria cases are at 215 with 25 death, while neonatal tetanus cases are at 81 with 44 deaths.

The agency also noted that almost 7,900 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer with annual deaths reaching around 4,000.

Deaths from these diseases are all preventable.

Meanwhile, data from the World Health Organization show that in 2023, some vaccine-preventable diseases indicated an increasing trend. Among them — neonatal tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps and rubella.

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IMMUNIZATION STILL A CHALLENGE

While the Philippines is no longer among the countries with the highest number of zero-dosed children, Herbosa admits that the agency remains challenged in reaching high numbers in terms of fully-immunized children or those who have received all the vaccines they need by age five.

“‘Yung iba after the first dose, hindi na bumabalik kaya napaka-importante ng school-based [immunization]. Minsan ‘yung bagong panganak mabibigay ang first dose; ‘yung 2nd and 3rd dose hindi na bumabalik. So nakukuha ulit sila sa school-based immunization.”

(Some no longer come back after getting the first dose. So with school-based immunization, we are able to give them the other vaccines and doses that they need.)

Herbosa says they are working closely with the Department of Education to provide the right information and educate parents on the importance of having their children immunized.

“Nakita natin malaki pa rin ‘yung vaccine hesitancy. Eh dati nasa 90 na tayo – mga 90% ang willingness na magpabakuna. Pero dahil sa nangyari sa Dengvaxia, bumagsak ng 40s. Ngayon hindi pa tayo nagrerecover sa totoo lang,” said Education Secretary Sonny Angara.

(Vaccine hesitancy remains high. There used to be 90% willingness by people to be immunized. But because of what happened during the time government gave out the Dengvaxia, confidence dropped to the 40s. To be honest, we still haven’t recovered.)

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The DOH says, with Bakuna Eskwela in full swing, there is no reason for failing to reach set targets and protect as many Filipino children as they can.