[ad_1]
MANILA (DPA) – Filipino parents were urged on Saturday (February 9th) to vaccinate their children against measles as part of an epidemic that has killed more than 20 children in the Philippines since the beginning of the year.
Julia Rees, of Unicef in the Philippines, said that routine immunization coverage in the country was only 55%, despite the fact that measles vaccine was freely available in public facilities.
"The measles vaccine is safe and effective and has been used successfully in the Philippines for over 40 years," she said.
"I urge parents and communities to take their children to the health center so that they are vaccinated," she added. "Measles in children is fatal and can cause long-term complications and disabilities."
According to UNICEF estimates, about 2.5 million children under 5 are not immunized against measles.
The Ministry of Health declared a measles epidemic in the capital, Manila, and in other regions, after recording a sharp increase in the number of cases in January.
In Manila alone, the number of measles patients increased from 36 to 36 in January 1998 to 441 on January 26. At least five deaths have been reported in Manila, the report adds.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque has blamed the increase for low vaccination rates among children because of an alert caused by a controversial program to immunize children against dengue fever in 2017.
The fright focused on a vaccine created by the French company Sanofi Pasteur, which revealed that the drug posed risks for children not infected with dengue fever before vaccination.
[ad_2]
Source link
