PhilHealth

Nita Hardman, a nurse at Barangay San Antonio Pasig Rural Health Center, administers oral Polio vaccine to one of the recipient- children as part of the DOH campaign against the disease.

With the recurrence of polio cases in the country after 2 decades of being polio free the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has recently participated in a community activity in support of the Department of Health's (DOH) national immunization campaign against polio.

Dubbed "Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio," the campaign aims to cover around 1.8 million children under five years old in Metro Manila and other identified areas.

In Pasig City, several personel from the PhilHealth Head office went to Barangay San Antonio to join Barangay Captain Thomas Raymond U. Lising and his health team in its door-to-door vaccination of at least 150 (verify figure) children ages one (1) to five (5) years old in Barangay San Antonio in Pasig City. The activity does not only intend to administer oral polio vaccines, but also to provide an avenue to educate parents on the importance of immunization.

"We will work closely with the Department of Health to achieve this target. We need bayanihan [community-spirit] from everyone, the parents and caregivers, mayors, governors, community and religious leaders, health workers, volunteers, and media partners," Lising said, stressing that polio is a highly infectious and potentially fatal disease caused by a virus.

One-year and seven-month old baby of resident Caitlin Sijas receives oral polio vaccine

Poliomyelitis (Polio) is a highly infectious disease caused by Poliovirus. It invades the nervous system, and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours and on rare occasions can be fatal. Polio mainly affects children under 5 years of age. Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness of the neck and pain in the limbs. PhilHealth reminds parents to immediately seek medical help as soon as their children manifest these symptoms.

The state health insurer pays P21, 100.00 for confinements due to polio which covers hospital charges and payment for professional fees. It may be availed of in any of its accredited healthcare institutions nationwide.

Jennifer Asaña narrates how the Pasig Local Government Unit informs them on the mass immunization campaign.

While there is no proven treatment for polio, it can be prevented by multiple polio vaccinations. Parents' acceptance and perception on government's vaccination campaign play a signifiant role in the eradication of polio cases, as well as in the reduction of other communicable diseases in the country. (END)