DOH resumes oral polio vacccine drive in Mindanao Monday

January 19, 2020

With 14 out of the 16 polio cases in the country coming from Mindanao, the Department of Health (DOH) will resume Monday its Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio (SPKP) campaign in southern Philippines. 

In an interview, Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said: "Our official count is 16 and most of the cases are from Mindanao. This is where we are concentrating for the moment," 

The synchronized oral polio vaccine campaign will be run from January 20 to February 2 in Mindanao. 

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said they aim to accomplish a 95 percent coverage in all target areas to attain herd immunity. 

"The outbreak must be put to a halt. And we can only do this if all of the target population are reached and vaccinated every round of immunization," said Duque in a statement. 

He urged parents and caregivers of children under five years old to take part.

"Have your children vaccinated with oral polio vaccine by health workers and bakunators. Additional polio doses can provide additional protection to your children. There is no overdose with the oral polio vaccine,” said Duque. 

In 2019, the health department conducted two rounds of polio immunization in Lanao del Sur, Marawi City, Davao del Sur, and Davao City; and one round in the whole of Mindanao.

Two additional rounds in Mindanao are set on February 17 to March 1 and March 23 to April 4. DMS