Misinformation stokes fears, slows E. Visayas measles-rubella drive

TACLOBAN CITY — Misinformation on social media and lingering fears linked to the 2017 Dengvaxia controversy are slowing the measles-rubella vaccination campaign in Tacloban City, Leyte, and Calbayog City, Samar, health officials said, appealing to parents to protect young children from potentially serious diseases.

In Tacloban, City Health Officer Jaime Opinion said about 300 mothers have so far declined to have their children vaccinated, citing false or misleading information they encountered on social media.

“Our vaccination campaign in the city is being affected by what some vloggers have been saying. They are spreading false information regarding this campaign, which results in some parents declining to have their children vaccinated,” Opinion said in an interview.

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READ: Why measles-rubella vaccination matters

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Tacloban had vaccinated only about 25 percent of its 25,511 target children aged 6 to 59 months as of last week, Opinion said. The campaign runs from Aug. 10 to 28.

Calbayog City is facing a similar challenge. The City Health Office reported that only 3,484 children, or 18 percent of its 19,225 target, had received the measles-rubella vaccine as of the latest count.

Nurse Rowena Bracamonte Faller, the city’s National Immunization Program coordinator, appealed to parents not to believe misinformation circulating online.

She said health workers have encountered people who have become resistant to vaccination because of what they see or hear on social media, with some even becoming hostile toward frontline health workers.

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Calbayog City Health Officer Sylvia de Guzman said the city is exhausting all available means to improve its immunization coverage and restore its performance under the Fully Immunized Child program.

The city is targeting more than 80 percent vaccination coverage to help provide community protection and prevent the spread of measles and rubella.

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Calbayog Mayor Raymund Uy also urged parents and guardians to have children aged 6 to 59 months vaccinated, describing vaccination as an expression of love, care and protection for children.

READ: DOH: Vaccine fears, social media fuel low measles-rubella uptake in CV

Opinion said the low turnout in Tacloban was also partly influenced by lingering concerns over the Dengvaxia controversy in 2017, when the government suspended its mass dengue vaccination program after manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur disclosed that the vaccine could increase the risk of severe dengue in people who had not previously been infected with the virus.

The controversy triggered widespread public concern and became the subject of congressional and legal investigations. It also contributed to a broader decline in public confidence in vaccines.

Health officials, however, stressed that the measles-rubella vaccine is different from Dengvaxia and is being administered as part of the national immunization program to protect children against two highly contagious viral diseases.

Measles can cause serious complications, including pneumonia and, in severe cases, death. Rubella is generally milder but can cause serious birth defects when a woman becomes infected during pregnancy.

Across Eastern Visayas, the Department of Health reported that 153,797 of the region’s 290,122 target children, or 53.01 percent, had received the measles-rubella vaccine as of this week.

READ: 31% of kids in Eastern Visayas get vaccination vs measles, rubella

Opinion said health authorities remain hopeful that Tacloban can reach at least 95 percent coverage before the campaign ends.

“We appeal to our parents to have their children vaccinated against measles and rubella. This is for the good of their children. We want to eliminate measles because there is a high threat of measles in the country,” he said.

He warned that unvaccinated children remain vulnerable to measles and its complications, including pneumonia and blindness.

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The campaign forms part of the Department of Health’s nationwide effort to close immunization gaps and prevent outbreaks of measles and rubella, particularly among young children who are most vulnerable to complications. /das