DoH seeks help of govt agencies
Credit to Author: EVA CASALJAY| Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2019 16:51:11 +0000
The Department of Health (DoH) on Friday said it had sought the help of other government agencies for its extensive vaccination drive against polio.
Undersecretary Rolando Enrique Domingo admitted in a radio interview with DZMM that they are short-handed in their vaccination drive, which will start next month, prompting them to ask for the cooperation of the health clusters of other government agencies.
“Humihingi nga po kami ng tulong. Kasi nga po pag nag-start na ang ating supplemental immunization sa polio…kailangan nga po namin ng tulong kasi strategy po ito… kailangan mabilisan at lahat ng bata mapatakan. Hindi naman po kaya ng DoH lamang (We are asking for assistance because when we begin our immunization, it entails a strategy to speed things up and make sure that all children are covered. The DoH cannot do this alone),” he said.
Domingo added that they would convene with the National Disaster and Risk Reduction Committee for a stronger vaccination drive, especially in the Mindanao area.
The Health department is looking forward to the cooperation of the departments of Education and Social Welfare and Development, as well as uniformed personnel.
Domingo noted that the supplemental immunization drive would focus on polio until the end of October since the department wants to prevent the number of cases from increasing.
The department also ensured on Thursday that the country remains polio-free since the two reported patients were only vaccine-derived and not infected with the poliovirus.
DoH earlier announced an outbreak after a girl from Lanao del Sur tested positive of the polio disease. A second case was reported from a boy in Laguna.
The department sees the Dengvaxia vaccine scare as one of the many factors of low immunization in the country that contributed to the return of the disease.