Over 490K children in CV still unvaccinated vs measles, rubella
Central Visayas in the Philippines has failed to meet its measles-rubella vaccination targets, with over 490,000 children remaining unvaccinated. Local health officials are extending the campaign and working to combat vaccine hesitancy and misinformation.
Why it matters
Low immunization coverage leaves the region vulnerable to outbreaks of preventable diseases, necessitating urgent public health interventions.
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — More than 490,000 young children in Central Visayas remained without a measles-rubella vaccine by the end of the region’s supplemental immunization campaign, with coverage reaching only 21.7 percent of the target population.
As of August 29, the final scheduled day of the Department of Health’s (DOH) Measles-Rubella Supplemental Immunization Activity (MR-SIA), only 137,042 of 630,214 eligible children had received the vaccine.
The campaign sought to immunize children aged six to 59 months in Cebu and Bohol provinces, as well as the highly urbanized cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue.
READ: DOH probes death of Cebu child after measles-rubella vaccination
The figure leaves 493,172 children still unreached, far below the government’s target of at least 95 percent coverage for the supplemental campaign.
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