THE DAVAO City Health Office (CHO) has renewed its appeal to parents to have their children vaccinated against measles as continued local migration has increased the risk for disease outbreaks. “The measles vaccine is 99% safe so we are urging mothers to get their children vaccinated for measles,” Dr. Josephine J. Villafuerte, CHO head, said in an interview with the media. “There is an influx of people from all over Mindanao to the city and this has made it vulnerable for disease transmission,” she added. In January, the city declared a measles outbreak, which the CHO traced to a barangay highly populated by informal settlers. The CHO has formed an outbreak response immunization (ORI) team to address such incidents. The ORI reported that as of Feb. 9 about 112,278 of the 198,747 children eligible for the anti-measles vaccine have been given their shot. — Carmencita A. Carillo

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