DAGUPAN CITY, August 24 (PIA) – The Department of Health (DOH) urged parents to support the school-based immunization program of the government that seeks to prevent and eliminate the emergence of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Dr. Maria Wilda Silva of the DOH in the Ilocos, said the health department has started the implementation of its nationwide vaccination program in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) this August.
“Children in Grades 1 and 7 are given free booster doses for tetanus, diphtheria, measles and rubella (German measles) to protect them from these infectious diseases,” she said during the KBP Forum held at the Philippine Information Agency (PIA)-Pangasinan office here on Thursday.
Silva allayed fears of parents of possible risks associated with the vaccines saying that the DOH only uses vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) which are safe, effective and used worldwide.
She encouraged parents and guardians to give their consent and let their children be vaccinated as these medicines will provide additional protection for children from diseases such as measles rubella and tetanus diphtheria. (VHS/AMM/PIA-1, Pangasinan)