ILOILO CITY: The Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) is urging parents to allow their children to receive vaccines for measles-rubella (MR), tetanus, diphtheria, and the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) as it launches its monthlong school-based immunization program starting on October 7.
According to Philippines News Agency, the province aims to vaccinate over 83,000 children across selected grade levels. The MR and tetanus-diphtheria vaccines will be administered as booster doses, while HPV vaccines will be given to girls aged nine to 11 years old to protect them before potential exposure to the virus.
The program is set to immunize 28,317 Grade 1 students and 37,928 Grade 7 learners with MR and tetanus-diphtheria vaccines. Meanwhile, HPV vaccines will be administered to 17,328 Grade 4 girls.
Quioñon appealed to parents to provide consent for their children to participate in the program, assuring that health workers are on hand to ensure the safety of the vaccinations. The IPHO, in partnership with Relief International and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), prepared health officers and nurses from 43 local government units for the program’s rollout.