Despite the zero number of measles cases in Davao City last year, the Davao City Health Office (CHO) is intensifying its campaign against measles through a citywide supplemental immunization activity, offering free measles vaccine to all eligible children.
Measles is a highly contagious disease which may lead to complications, especially in children aged five or younger. A patient with the virus can spread it to around 12 to 18 other individuals, making widespread vaccination critical to community protection.
Dr. Annaliza Malubay, National Immunization Program Medical Coordinator of CHO, told the City Information Office (CIO) that the city’s role as a hub for travellers makes it vulnerable to outbreaks despite last year’s zero record of measles cases.
“For 2025, wala tay na positive, negative ta sa measles dria. That’s why we have to intensify kay ang mga bata man gud sa Davao og dili lang kay from Davao, dghan naga sulod na mga bata from other regions. So, kailangan nato iprotect bisan negative pata last year sa measles kay para ma prevent ang outbreak (For 2025, we have no positives cases in Davao City, we are negative for measles here. That’s why we have to intensify because the children in Davao, and not just from Davao, many children from other regions are coming in. So, we need to protect although we were negative for measles last year, we also have to protect them to prevent an outbreak),” she said.
The Measles Rubella Supplemental Immunization Activity (MRSIA) will run from January 19 to February 13, 2026, from Monday to Sunday, covering all districts, satellite health centers, and barangay-level vaccination posts.
The CHO target is to vaccinate around 154,000 children aged six months to 59 months, with the goal of achieving at least 95 percent coverage to ensure community protection.
She also advised parents to take advantage of the campaign period by coordinating with their barangay health professionals, as vaccination teams will be deployed to barangays to guarantee that all children receive the free vaccine.
“Libre ni siya. We have 18 districts sa Davao City, 18 ka main health centers og dili lang ta mag pundo dinha kundi mag adto mi sa mga barangay, sa mga puroks para lang gyud atong ma reach katung mga target na consitutents which is 6 months to 59 months old (It’s free. We have 18 districts in Davao City, with 18 main health centers per health center. We’ll go to the barangays, to the puroks, just to reach those target constituents, which are children aged 6 months to 59 months old), ” she added.
Malubay emphasized that the campaign is non-selective, meaning all eligible children will be vaccinated regardless of previous doses.
She also assured the Dabawenyos that the vaccines being provided are both safe and effective and any questions or doubts should be addressed directly with health centers or doctors, rather than relying on unverified information circulating on social media.
“Ang pagbakuna kay safe ni siya and then number two, it prevents the occurrences of vaccine preventable disease so I hope kung naa man tay mga questions, doubts and confusions pwede ragyud na ninyo i-address sa mga health centers or doctors. Dili lang ta mag asa like sa mga social media, daghan kaayo ta og makita so ang uban mahadlok nalang so dapat i-validate ba kung tinoud or dili. I can say that our vaccines, they are safe and effective (The vaccine is safe, and secondly, it prevents the occurrence of vaccine-preventable diseases. So I hope that if you have any questions, doubts, or confusions, you can address them at health centers or with doctors. We shouldn’t just rely on social media, as there’s so much to see and some people just get scared, so we need to verify whether it’s true or not. I can say that our vaccines are safe and effective),”she said.
For further announcements and updates, Dabawenyos may contact the Davao City Health Office through its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090763330827. CIO
