Mandaue health officials urge parents to trust vaccine experts

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — Mandaue City health officials are urging parents to trust health experts and verified information instead of misinformation circulating online as the city continues its vaccination campaign.

The Department of Health’s (DOH) three-week Measles-Rubella Supplemental Immunization Activity started on August 10, with the Mandaue City Health Office (CHO) conducting vaccination activities across the city’s 27 barangays. The campaign targets children aged six months to 59 months.

Based on Mandaue CHO data, about 10 percent, or around 3,000, of the city’s more than 30,000 target children have been vaccinated. Each day, around 577 parents decline vaccination, while 448 children are deferred or placed on hold for later vaccination.

City Health Officer Dr. Debra Maria Catulong said nurses, midwives and barangay health workers have been trained and are following Department of Health guidelines in implementing the campaign.

She urged parents to have their children vaccinated against measles and rubella.

“Akoang hangyo maminaw lang sa mga eksperto, dili ta maminaw ana nila (social media). Pabakuna atoang mga anak, likayan sila sa sakit nga tipdas. Manghinaot lang ko nga magtinabangay ta karun. We don’t want another round of epidemic sama sa atoang nasulayan sa COVID. So, again, pabakuna atoang anak, protekda karun, himsog sa umaabot,” said Catulong.

(My appeal is for you to listen to the experts and not to what you see on social media. Have our children vaccinated to protect them from measles. I hope we can work together because we don’t want another round of an epidemic like what we experienced during COVID. So, again, have our children vaccinated, protect them now for a healthy future.)

Catulong said health workers are visiting different sitios and puroks across the city’s 27 barangays to make vaccination more accessible.

Nix Alegado, National Immunization Program officer of the Mandaue City Health Office, said vaccine hesitancy and misinformation circulating on social media are among the reasons some parents remain hesitant.

He assured parents that the measles-rubella vaccine is safe, with the most common reactions being mild pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, and mild fever.

Alegado said the city has received reports of mild rashes, localized pain and mild fever following vaccination, but no severe allergic reactions have been reported so far.

Health personnel continue to assess reported adverse events to determine whether they are related to vaccination or have other causes, he said.

“Ang sagad sa ila rason (refusal) nakita online…. Amoa na i-address nga safe ang vaccine and backed by science and evidence. So, dili ni dapat kahadlukan, para ni sa kaayuhan sa mga bata,” said Alegado.

(Most of their reasons for refusing [vaccination] are things they saw online. We address this by explaining that the vaccine is safe and backed by science and evidence. So, this should not be something to fear; it is for the welfare of the children.)

Alegado also said health workers are addressing parents’ concerns through health education and by answering their questions about the vaccine.

He said children who are not vaccinated are at risk of measles and its possible complications, including pneumonia and encephalitis.

The city has deployed 59 vaccination teams to different communities and sitios to administer the vaccine.

The supplemental immunization activity started in Central Visayas on August 10 and will run for three weeks.

Mandaue City Administrator Atty. Gonzalo Malig-on Jr. also encouraged parents to consult doctors and health professionals when making decisions about vaccination.

Malig-on said parents should rely on science-based information and guidance from health authorities rather than unverified information circulating online.

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