“Hindi ito sapilitan. This is optional ….. It will not be implemented on a natoinwide basis because our funds
are limited as of the moment, but this will cover the 20 poorest provinces,” she said.
Explaining the choice of age, she said, “Why Grade 4? Because it is presumed that it is the age when you could start your sexual contact.”
The program targeting the grade 4 children in the poorest provinces was revealed in a discussion on myths and misconceptions about vaccines dubbed as “Usapang Bakuna” held Tuesday at the Museum Café in Ayala Museum, Makati City.
The dialogue was spearhead by the Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD), an American Pharmaceutical Company, and attended by pediatricians who are members of the Philippine Pediatric Society.
Besides the HPV, the DOH will administer anti-tetanus and anti-diphtheria booster vaccines to some 2.43 million Grade 1 students in all public schools across the country.
Also eyed are booster shots against measles, rubella, tetanus and diphtheria to some 1.67 million Grade 7 students in all public schools.
Garin cited the need to capture all eligible people for immunization to develop herd immunity against these vaccine-preventable diseases in the country.
“Why do we do that? Kapag meron tayong calamities, magktatakbuhan ang mga tao kapag nasugatan for anti-tetanus injection when in fact we can prepare for it. Three dose of tetanus during the first year of life, a booster dose at Grade 1 and another dose at Grade 7, you will now have five doses of tetanus that will give you lifetime immunity during calamities,” she added.
The school-based vaccination campaign has been included in the DOH’s National Immunization Program.
HPV vaccine is a form of protection against sexually transmitted virus that eventually leads to the disease that most women fear — cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in women worldwide and even in the Philippines.
Secretary Garin said that since it is preventable by vaccine through HPV, there is a need to protect the young people hoping to have brighter future, especially in the poorest sector which cannot afford it.
She added that the disease is usually detected at the 40-45 years age bracket, where a woman can still be productive and having cancer brings financial difficulty.
The DOH chief said that giving the poor children the HPV vaccine is a way of ensuring that such illness will not be incurred by the targeted children so that their chance to become productive members of society will not be hindered.
She said that there is a need for people to fully understand how the immunization can help the poor children prevent themselves from having the life-threatening disease of cervical cancer.
The budget for the program will come from the Sin Tax revenues.
