Philippines requests for polio vaccines from WHO

September 25, 2019

The Philippine government submitted an immediate request for supply of  polio vaccines to the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO Representative to the Philippines Rabindra Abeyasinghe said on Wednesday said the government has requested the global health organization for stocks of the trivalent Oral Polio Vaccines (OPV).

According to Abeyasinghe, the trivalent OPV will prevent the transmission of vaccine-derived polio virus type two. However in 2015, the vaccine was replaced by a bivalent OPV which does not contain the component used to eradicate the type two virus.

"We have the stockpile from WHO for similar (outbreak) situation. The government of the Philippines has now requested the WHO to release vaccine from that stockpile," said Abeyasinghe.

He said the first wave of the vaccine distribution is expected to take place by middle of October in Lanao del Sur and Davao City where the first case of the re-occurring virus was tested positive.

The second part of immunization for the new vaccine is projected to be done by middle of November to middle of December in the whole Mindanao and the Bangsamoro Autonomour Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Abeyasinghe said the WHO and the Department of Health are eyeing to vaccinate at least 95 percent of Filipino children once the stocks of trivalent OVP has been distributed. Cristina Eloisa Baclig/DMS