Baguio city: The city government is looking to institutionalize the 'Reaching Every Purok Strategy' (REPS) to ensure that eligible children are reached by its immunization program. In an interview Wednesday, Councilor Leandro Yangot Jr., who is pushing for the passage of an ordinance to strengthen the city's National Immunization Program, said 'this will ensure that every infant and child receives the essential vaccines.'

According to Philippines News Agency, under the proposed measure, the City Health Services Office (CHSO) will lead all immunization activities, manage district health centers, track children who miss vaccines, train health personnel, and submit quarterly reports on coverage. The city government will provide budgetary support, procure vaccines not supplied by the national government, and create a centralized and digitized vaccination registry integrating both public and private data.

An earlier report of the Department of Health showed that the Cordillera, including Baguio City, has a 75 percent immunization rate, which is lower than the 95 percent target. The measure seeks to institutionalize the roles of the CHSO, private healthcare providers, and schools, while providing funding and a centralized system to monitor immunization coverage.

Officially titled the 'Baguio City Comprehensive Child Immunization and Health Protection Ordinance,' the measure aims to protect children from vaccine-preventable diseases, including tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, pneumococcal infections, rotavirus, and human papillomavirus for eligible female students. The ordinance also emphasizes the timely administration of the Hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth in hospitals and lying-in centers.

It also encourages private doctors to cooperate and collaborate with the government by providing data of their immunization for the CHSO to identify children who need vaccines. The DOH has been urging parents and guardians to have their children inoculated with government-provided vaccines to protect them against the effects of various diseases.