Nearly 89,000 Iloilo children get free measles, rubella shots

By Mariela Angella Oladive

ILOILO CITY – Nearly 89,000 children ages 6 to 59 months in Iloilo province have received measles-rubella (MR) vaccines, bringing the province’s coverage to 51.59 percent on the ninth day of the supplemental immunization campaign.

As of Aug. 20, a total of 88,929 children had been vaccinated out of the province’s target of 172,360, data from the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) showed.

The MR Supplemental Immunization Activity (SIA) runs from Aug. 10 to 28 to provide additional protection against measles and rubella among eligible children.

The campaign is part of the 2026 Ligtas Tigdas initiative, which covers children ages 6 to 59 months and aims to close immunization gaps and prevent outbreaks of measles and rubella.

Four local government units (LGUs) had surpassed the campaign’s 76.5 percent cumulative target as of that date.

Miagao posted the highest coverage at 88.76 percent, vaccinating 4,784 of its 5,390 target children.

Guimbal followed at 82.41 percent, with 1,954 of 2,371 children vaccinated.

San Enrique reached 80.87 percent, with 2,938 of 3,633 children vaccinated.

Lemery cleared the mark at 77.72 percent, with 1,978 of 2,545 children vaccinated.

Santa Barbara and Tigbauan trailed the leaders at 70.45 percent and 70.07 percent, respectively.

Twelve other LGUs vaccinated more than half of their target population: Mina at 64.15 percent, Passi City at 59.88 percent, Anilao at 59.23 percent, Barotac Viejo at 58.04 percent, New Lucena at 57.04 percent, Dingle at 56.42 percent, San Dionisio at 55.15 percent, Badiangan at 53.23 percent, San Joaquin at 51.72 percent, Tubungan at 51.69 percent, Cabatuan at 51.13 percent, and Dueñas at 50.26 percent.

The MR vaccine is free for eligible children, regardless of previous immunization status.

Parents and guardians may have their eligible children vaccinated at health centers, fixed sites, or temporary barangay vaccination posts, with teams continuing community visits until Aug. 28.

The provincial government has urged parents and guardians to rely on credible health information amid online misinformation about vaccine safety.

The World Health Organization holds that at least 95 percent coverage with two vaccine doses is needed to interrupt community transmission of measles, a threshold the Philippines has missed for several years.

Iloilo’s drive forms part of a Western Visayas campaign targeting 408,114 children, which the Department of Health regional office launched after measles cases in the region climbed 41 percent, from 315 in 2024 to 444 in 2025.

Health officials have traced much of the country’s vaccine hesitancy to the 2017 Dengvaxia controversy, which drove down routine childhood immunization and preceded a 2019 measles outbreak that killed hundreds of Filipinos, most of them children.

From Jan. 4 to Aug. 8, the Iloilo Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit recorded 48 measles-rubella cases, down 77.3 percent from the 211 cases reported during the same period in 2025.

No deaths were recorded in either period.

Measles is highly contagious and can cause serious complications, particularly among young children.

Rubella infection during pregnancy can also result in congenital rubella syndrome and severe birth defects.