Iloilo City assures parents measles-rubella vaccines are safe

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

ILOILO CITY – The Iloilo City Health Office (CHO) is assuring parents that measles-rubella (MR) vaccines are safe as it moves to overcome vaccine hesitancy and reach at least 95 percent coverage in its supplemental immunization campaign.

Mayette Gabanto, National Immunization Program coordinator of the CHO, said vaccine hesitancy among parents remains one of the major challenges in reaching eligible children.

She said the CHO has been strengthening its information and advocacy efforts to reassure parents that the vaccines have been in use for years and to encourage them to have their children immunized.

“One of the challenges we have had since is that we cannot really avoid vaccine hesitancy among parents. That is why we are strengthening our advocacy among parents that our vaccines are safe and have already been used for several years,” Gabanto said during a press conference on Aug. 6.

The CHO will conduct the Measles-Rubella Supplemental Immunization Activity (MR-SIA) from Aug. 10 to 28, targeting at least 95 percent of children ages 6 to 59 months.

Gabanto said the activity is intended to close gaps in immunization coverage and give children additional protection against measles and rubella, regardless of their previous vaccination status.

“The MR-SIA is to close the gap as their booster and also close the gap among our target children in terms of fully immunized children, since our fully immunized children are part of the target population for the MR-SIA activity,” she said.

The three-week campaign will open with a kickoff at the Talatapan Child Development Center on Aug. 10.

Vaccination will be available at district health centers and barangay health stations.

A vaccination site will also be set up at the Government Service Express on the ground floor of SM City Iloilo, operating Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Aside from vaccine hesitancy, Gabanto identified rainy weather as another challenge to the campaign.

She said persistent rains make it difficult for health workers to gather children for vaccination because house-to-house immunization is not allowed.

Health workers are therefore being encouraged to conduct vaccinations at temporary fixed sites where parents can bring their children.

Gabanto said 14,973 children ages 9 to 59 months are eligible for the MR-SIA, based on the Department of Health (DOH) population projection.

The CHO’s own master list, drawn from on-site validation, contains 13,296 children.

Despite the difference, Gabanto said the city will continue to use the DOH projection as its basis.

She also assured parents that the city has sufficient vaccines supplied by the DOH for the campaign.

The MR-SIA is conducted every three years.

During the previous MR-SIA in 2023, Iloilo City had a target of 37,367 children but vaccinated only 27,609, for a coverage rate of 73.89 percent.

The CHO is aiming to improve on that figure substantially and reach at least the 95 percent target.

That target is consistent with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation that countries and districts maintain at least 95 percent vaccination coverage to prevent measles outbreaks.

Gabanto said 113 vaccinators will be deployed for the August campaign.

Some health personnel will be assigned to cover as many as three barangays, with each vaccinator expected to administer at least 60 doses a day.

She said an assessment based on WHO standards showed that the number of vaccinators is sufficient to cover the DOH-projected target population.

“We encourage parents not to be afraid to have their children vaccinated. This activity is also intended to prevent their children from contracting diseases. Our vaccines have already been tested and are safe,” Gabanto said.

The city campaign forms part of a regionwide drive prompted by a rise in infections. DOH-6 has said that the region’s inability to sustain the 95 percent routine immunization target in recent years has allowed measles and rubella to continue circulating in communities.

Suspected measles-rubella cases in Western Visayas rose 41 percent in 2025, to 444 from 314 the year before, with Iloilo Province accounting for the largest share at 291 and Iloilo City registering 72. Antique recorded 40, Capiz 20, Aklan 15, and Guimaras six. No deaths were reported.

Nationally, the August round is the third phase of the DOH campaign. It covers Luzon and the Visayas, runs until Aug. 28, and follows earlier rounds in Mindanao and the National Capital Region, with an estimated 6.28 million eligible children targeted. More than 400,000 of them are in Western Visayas.

Measles is highly contagious and can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis, and death, particularly among young and unvaccinated children. Rubella is usually mild, but infection during pregnancy can cause congenital rubella syndrome and severe birth defects.