Government does not appreciate compulsory vaccination for legal problems

The government does not like to set up a mandatory vaccination program, said a Malacanang official yesterday, even after the outbreak of a measles outbreak in several parts of the Philippines.
At a press conference, the Cabinet Secretary, Karlo Alexei Nograles, said yesterday that the government could face legal problems before the courts when it implements mandatory vaccination of children.
"Compulsory vaccination may not be necessary. I think that may be challenged in court, "Nograles told reporters.
The palace official said the government should instead "step up" its vaccination campaign, with the help of local government units (LGU).
"You know, local government units should be involved here, in terms of (contribution) to this program, in terms of actions, and even in terms of accountability. I think local communities play a very important and crucial role in this immunization program and other government programs, "he said.
Nograles added that President Rodrigo Duterte had instructed the Ministry of Health to strengthen communication efforts on the importance of immunization with the active participation of the presidential communications office.
A total of 441 measles cases and five deaths were reported in Metro Manila, while the Luzon center had 192 cases and four deaths.
In addition to these two areas, the Department of Health has extended the scope of the measles epidemic to Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Western Visayas and Central Visayas.
In an email sent Thursday to the Manila Times, the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila announced that 56 people had been killed Wednesday as a result of the measles outbreak.
In the first month of 2019, the hospital recorded 1,550 reported cases of measles, compared to 2,654 cases and 68 deaths in 2018.
Most of the victims were children aged between three months and four years.
No deaths were reported in the 155 cases reported among adults aged 19 to 41 years.
In the Western Visayas, a total of 166 measles cases with three presumed deaths were recorded in the region as of January 26, 2019, according to DoH records.
Dr. Mary Jane Juanico, medical coordinator of the Regional Health Office's Child Health Program, said that it remained for her to determine whether the deaths had been caused by measles.
She attributed the epidemic to the low coverage rate of the Ministry of Health's measles immunization program in Region 6 last year.
Public support for the program may have diminished due to controversy over Dengvaxia's anti-dengue vaccine, Juanico said.
Measles, caused by a virus that infects the airways, can be transmitted through direct contact and through the air.
According to the health department, its complications include severe diarrhea, pneumonia, blindness and even death.
Fever, red eyes, cough and cold, and red rashes were the symptoms of measles.
In Quezon City, Metro Manila, the Quezon City Health Department recorded a total of 108 measles cases, including eight deaths from January 1 to 26.
As of February 1, a total of 965 children were vaccinated throughout the city.
In the middle of the epidemic, the House of Representatives also approved yesterday, at second reading, a law expanding the scope of the basic compulsory vaccination program and providing a system for determining other types of diseases that can be prevented by vaccination. amending the Republic Act (RA) 10152 or the "Compulsory Immunization for Infant and Child Health Act, 2011".
Vaccination against rotavirus, Japanese encephalitis, PCV and HPV has been included in the coverage of PR 10152.
Senator Risa Hontiveros asked for the resignation of the head of the prosecutor's office, Persida Acosta, to whom she blamed the measles epidemic, which resulted in the death of at least 55 children.
Hontiveros claimed that Acosta had politicized the controversy surrounding the Dengvaxia vaccine, which required parents not to vaccinate their children.