Health authorities underscored the need for Filipinos to complete the life course immunization to avoid contracting severe infection from vaccine preventable illnesses.
The life course immunization is a component of the national immunization program to provide the needed vaccines to Filipinos during the different life stages to spare them from contracting severe infection from vaccine-preventable illnesses that might affect their overall health in any stage of their lives.
During pregnancy, women must be vaccinated with tetanus-diphtheria while they must be vaccinated with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and hepatitis B during the neo-neonatal age.
Infants must also be vaccinated with oral polio, inactivated polio, diphtheria, hepatitis B, pneumococcal conjugate and PCB for measles, mumps and rubella.
Children must be inoculated with measles containing vaccines and tetanus-diphtheria while adolescents should be vaccinated with human papillomavirus vaccine, measles containing vaccine and tetanus-diphtheria.
Upon reaching adulthood, Filipinos should be getting their regular flu vaccine and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine.
The BCG vaccine will prevent individuals from contracting tuberculosis, hepatitis B vaccine will minimize the risk of individuals acquiring hepatitis, pentavalent vaccine will prevent diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, pneumonia, meningitis and hepatitis while oral and inactivated polio vaccine will help in preventing polio.
Moreover, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine will help people avoid pneumonia and meningitis while measles, amps and rubella vaccine will prevent individuals from being ill with measles.
Health authorities explained that a fully immunized child is one who was able to receive one dose BCG, three doses pentavalent vaccine, three doses oral polio vaccine, two doses measles containing vaccine at 12 months while a completely immunized child was able to receive one dose BCG, 3 doses pentavalent vaccine, three doses oral polio vaccine and 2 doses measles containing vaccine at 23 months or before reacting two years old.
The national immunization program was presented by health authorities during the recently concluded Seminar-Workshop on Injecting Hope Catch up Vaccination and the Life Course Immunization that was spearheaded by the Philippine Press Institute in partnership with Pfizer Philippines, the Pharmaceutical and Health Care Association of the Philippines, the Philippine Medical Association, the Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations and the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination, Inc.
Health officials underscored that vaccination is for everybody and guarantees their overall safety for them not to contract severe infection caused by vaccine preventable illnesses and for them to remain healthy during the life stages.
The health department assured that all the vaccines being given to Filipinos are safe because they hurdle the rigid processes instituted to guarantee their safety and ability to prevent people from contracting the vaccine preventable illnesses. By Dexter A. See
