THE Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Health (DOH) initiated a vaccination campaign in public schools on Monday. Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara acknowledged the difficulty of addressing people’s hesitancy to get vaccinated, especially in light of the Dengvaxia controversy.
Angara and Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa inaugurated the reactivation of the government’s school-based immunization program, “Bakuna Eskwela,” at Dr. Alejandro Albert Elementary School in Manila.
The initiative will be implemented in chosen public schools throughout multiple provinces until November as part of the government’s aim to increase immunization rates against vaccine-preventable diseases nationally.
Bakuna Eskwela will concentrate on measles, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, and human papillomavirus, Angara stated.
“As Secretary Ted [Herbosa] explained, such unvaccinated youngsters could face several serious consequences. In severe situations, an unvaccinated child could die, therefore we must take this seriously,” he told reporters during a chance interview on the sidelines of the kickoff ceremony in Manila.
LOW RATE OF ACCEPTANCE
“Before, at least 90% were willing to receive the vaccine. However, with the Dengvaxia issue, this figure fell to roughly 40%,” Angara explained. “Until now, to be honest, we haven’t recovered from [that drop].”
Dengvaxia had been utilized in the Aquino government’s dengue vaccine program, which commenced in 2016. It came under fire under the Duterte administration after Public Attorney’s Office Chief Persida Acosta blamed it for the deaths of certain children who had taken the vaccine.
Angara and Herbosa, on the other hand, were optimistic that the new vaccination campaign would overcome vaccine skepticism.
“And we are hoping that the parents will sign the consent form … because we will require parental consent [before] students can get the vaccine,” Herbosa told reporters.