There should no longer be any questions about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines against measles, rubella and polio, an infectious and tropical disease expert said Friday.

Dr. Anna Ong-Lim, chief of the Infectious and Tropical Diseases section at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital, issued the reminder in a disease awareness roundtable at the Marco Polo Hotel in Pasig City.

“The public fear vaccines but I’d like to challenge that assumption. There are always questions about their safety and efficacy, but you know, we are talking about these vaccines that we have been using for decades in our national program. There should be no discussion on whether it is safe,” said Ong-Lim, who is also a professor at the UP College of Medicine.

On Thursday, the Department of Health launched “Chikiting Ligtas 2023,” a nationwide supplemental immunization campaign to vaccinate children against measles, rubella and polio.

Ong, who is also an advisor to the Interagency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases Technical Working Group, noted that many Filipino children missed their vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“During the pandemic, our immunization dropped significantly. Most of our immunization coverage went down to roughly about 50 percent,” she said.

“We need 95 percent vaccination coverage. We are no longer aiming for that because we were targeting only 90 percent, but we still failed,” she added.

Earlier this week, Unicef released a study indicating that of the 67 million children globally who missed out on routine vaccination between 2019 and 2022, 48 million did not receive a single routine vaccine, also known as “zero-dose.”

The Philippines has one million zero-dose children, the second highest in East Asia and the Pacific Region, and the fifth highest globally.

“Do we need to catch up? Definitely, because those who are yet to receive vaccinations will get infected and cause the transmission,” she said.

“We are talking about catching up with regular vaccines such as measles, rubella, polio, rotavirus, diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus – these diseases are not exotic, they are not rare,” she pointed out.

“No one should be infected if they were only vaccinated. It is free. It can be prevented,” she stressed.

‘Localize programs’

To fully implement programs, in this case, vaccination, the League of Municipalities of the Philippines Secretary General and Barcelona Mayor Cynthia Falcotelo-Fortes said the national government should let local government units craft the programs.

“The municipal local government units – we are the workforces of the national government agencies, including the DOH,” Falcotelo-Fortes said.

“There are programs, projects, and activities formed and crafted by the DOH — sometimes they come in a straitjacket. The programs leave no elbow room for the MLGUs,” she added.

Falcotelo-Fortes said contextualization is needed when crafting programs for them to be “workable.”

“Modesty aside, we know the situation better on the ground. There should be no one size fits all because every LGU has different needs. So let us localize programs, which is very workable,” she said.

Read more:  https://tribune.net.ph/2023/04/29/safety-of-vaccines-undisputable-experts/

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https://tribune.net.ph/2023/04/29/safety-of-vaccines-undisputable-experts/

The wellness industry in the Philippines is on the rise, as more and more Filipinos prioritize their health and well-being amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a report by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the wellness industry in the country was projected to grow by 7.1% in 2021, with an estimated market size of PHP 273 billion. This growth is driven by increasing demand for wellness products and services, such as nutritional supplements, fitness programs, and mental health services.

Many businesses in the wellness industry have adapted to the pandemic by offering online and virtual services, such as virtual fitness classes and telemedicine consultations. This has made wellness more accessible to Filipinos, even those who are unable to leave their homes due to quarantine restrictions.

The government has also recognized the importance of wellness in promoting overall health and reducing healthcare costs. In 2020, the Department of Health launched the "Healthy Pilipinas" campaign, which aims to promote healthy lifestyles and preventive healthcare among Filipinos.

As the pandemic continues to impact the lives of Filipinos, the wellness industry is expected to play an increasingly important role in supporting the health and well-being of the population.