Taguig City ranked first among the local government units in the National Capital Region (NCR) in the implementation of the Department of Health’s (DOH) “Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio” campaign.

Taguig received a rating of 102 percent, snatching the highest score among the cities and municipality of NCR as it successfully vaccinated a total number of 96,866 children.

The teams from DOH and the World Health Organization validated the results after conducting Rapid Coverage Assessment.

Following announcements of a polio outbreak in the country last Sept. 19, Taguig amplified its campaign against the disease by administering vaccinations in barangay health centers and conducting house-to-house visits.

This aligned with DOH Memorandum No. 2019-0318 reiterating the conduct of the Synchronized Oral Polio Vaccination from Oct. 14 to 27 (first round of vaccination) and from Nov. 25 to Dec. 7 (second round) in Metro Manila.

Under the program, children aged 0-59 months old should receive oral poliomyelitis vaccination to help them fight the virus that may lead to lifetime illness and even death.

DOH Health Policy and Systems Development Undersecretary Mario Villaverde expressed his gratitude to Taguig for its active participation in the anti-polio vaccination program.

Taguig City’s National Immunization Program Coordinator, Dr. Jennifer Lou Lorico-De Guzman, on the other hand, commended the barangay health workers (BHW) and the city health personnel for the successful implementation of the program.

“Not just doctors, our BHWs also voluntarily work on the weekends just to make sure that we reach our target every day,” she said.

She also cited the collaborative effort among medical practitioners from private hospitals such as St. Luke’s Medical Center-Global City, Medical Center Taguig and Cruz-Rabe Hospital. (PR)