THE CITY Health Office (CHO) partnered with the Department of Health (DOH), target to vaccinate a total of 2,000 students from Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Sr. Elementary School as a kick-off of the city-wide school-based immunization (SBI) in public schools.
In a statement, Dr. Ma. Vilma Gonzaga, CHO Rural Health physician, said the SBI aims to protect children from vaccine-preventable diseases.
“This kind of vaccination (SBI) is an additional vaccination for the children; it is not a regular vaccination,” Gonzaga said.
Gonzaga said they are to stay for the whole week in school, except on Wednesdays, when vaccinators will focus on regular immunization at the community health centers.
She noted that SBI is also being carried out simultaneously in other Davao City schools. Depending on how many pupils attend each school, vaccine providers may remain in one place for a week or less.
Aside from handing out vaccination cards to students for future school-based vaccinations, CHO also required parents’ consent before conducting the said activity.
“If the parents will not sign the consent form, we will not force their children,” she added.
A few grades one and seven students received vaccines against measles-rubella and tetanus-diphtheria, while female students younger than grade 4 also received vaccines against human papillomavirus and cervical cancer.
In a media interview, DOH Undersecretary Abdullah P. Dumama Jr. reaffirmed the vaccinations’ efficacy and safety, pointing out that the health centers have been administering them for years. According to him, the DOH possesses enough supply of vaccinations for school-based immunization.
Photo courtesy of City Information Office
