DOH Sounds Alarm: Over 500,000 Kids in Mindanao Still Unvaccinated, Measles Outbreak Looming
The Department of Health just dropped a worrying warning: Mindanao is vulnerable to a measles-rubella outbreak because too many children remain unvaccinated. Despite the government's "Ligtas Tigdas" vaccination campaign, around 520,646 children aged 5 and below in the region still haven't received their shots.
The DOH reported that approximately 2.3 million children — or 82 percent of the target population — were vaccinated during the campaign. Sounds decent, right? It's not. The agency says they need at least 95 percent coverage to achieve herd immunity and effectively prevent the virus from spreading. That 13-percent gap represents hundreds of thousands of unprotected kids.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world — a single infected person can spread it to 12 to 18 others. For children under 5, it can lead to serious complications including pneumonia, brain swelling, and even death. Rubella, while often milder, poses severe risks to pregnant women and their unborn babies.
The low vaccination rate in Mindanao isn't entirely surprising. The region has historically faced challenges with vaccine hesitancy, access to health facilities in remote areas, and the lingering effects of the 2017 Dengvaxia controversy that tanked public trust in government immunization programs. Rebuilding that trust has been an uphill battle for the DOH.
The message from health officials is clear: if you're a parent in Mindanao with an unvaccinated child, now is the time to act. Measles outbreaks don't announce themselves — they explode. And with over half a million unvaccinated kids, the conditions for a major outbreak are already in place. Magpabakuna na habang may oras pa.
Source: The Manila Times
