DOH launches intensified campaign vs measles

MANILA, Philippines —  A renewed and intensified vaccination campaign against measles has been launched by the Department of Health.

The DOH established on March 13 a national public health emergency operations center (PHEOC) to help address the increasing number of measles cases in the Philippines.

The World Health Organization, the UN International Children’s Emergency Fund and the US Center for Disease Control assisted in setting up the center.

“Code Blue has been practiced in the DOH central office since March 20, which signals intensified activities to mitigate the spread of the virus through vaccination, micronutrient supplementation, community engagement and risk communication,” Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said in a statement.

The PHEOC is supervising on-the-ground response activities to contain measles cases, he added.

“The DOH targets to vaccinate at least 90 percent of the high-risk population, especially children from six months to 10 years of age in a bid to control measles,” Herbosa noted.

“A non-selective outbreak response immunization strategy for measles-rubella is being implemented in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, together with vitamin A supplementation and a synchronized supplemental immunization activity on bivalent oral polio vaccine,” he said.

The DOH advised the public that respiratory precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic will help protect against measles, pertussis (whooping cough) and other respiratory infections.
Precautions such as wearing a face mask, staying at home when sick, frequent hand washing and going to areas with good airflow will help the public.

The DOH is also working with local government units for catch-up immunization for vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and pertussis.

The international lifting of COVID-19 as a public health emergency – which allowed for more mobility among populations returning to schools and workplaces – may have also heightened the transmission of diseases that could have otherwise been prevented by vaccines, according to experts.

As of Feb. 24, the DOH recorded 569 measles and rubella cases.

All regions except for Bicol and Central Visayas have reported