ZAMBOANGA CITY, May 11 (PIA) – Zamboanga City Health Office intensifies its campaign on nationwide month-long Measles Rubella Bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine Supplemental Immunization Activity (MR-OPV SIA) through its conduct of house-to-house immunization by their health workers.

One of the strategies of the Department of Health is to bring the vaccination team closer to the households to assure that all children will be receiving its routine immunization. They emphasized that children 0-59 years old are the most vulnerable to Measles, Rubella and Polio and these diseases can be prevented through vaccines.

Zamboanga City kicks off the nationwide MR-OPV SIA on May 2 deploying over 100 vaccination teams to reach out target population by the end of the month. The CHO targets to vaccinate 79,973 children aged 9-59 months with the measles rubella vaccine and 93,802 children 0-59 months old with oral polio vaccine.

Mayor John Dalipe together with City Health Office personnel and barangay officials demonstrate the city’s commitment to the campaign which aims to provide additional protection to eligible children and prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Dalipe enjoined parents, guardians and caregivers of children 0 to 59 months old to submit their children for immunization during the month-long MR-OPV SIA either through the house-to-house, fixed sites or mobile sites approach that the City Health Office has adopted.

Dr. Rolando Bucoy of DOH-9 also appealed to the public and to the parents not to ignore health workers who knock on their doors for the house-to-house immunization, “we would like to inform everyone that these vaccines are safe to all our children,” he added.

Zamboanga the City Health Office is confident that they will achieve the target population to be vaccinated by the end of May. MR-OPV SIA will run until May 31, 2023. (RVC/MLE/PIA9-Zamboanga City)