By Benjamin Cuaresma
The Department of Health (DOH) Ilocos Region has deployed 23 field teams to reach children in remote and flood-affected communities as health authorities push to protect thousands of young children from measles and rubella.
The teams, deployed from August 10 to 21, are reinforcing local health workers under the 2026 Measles-Rubella Supplemental Immunization Activity (MR-SIA), with priority given to communities where geography and recent flooding could prevent children from accessing regular vaccination services.
The intensified campaign targets children 6 to 59 months old, with the region aiming to immunize at least 95 percent of its 444,512 eligible children—a coverage level considered critical to limiting the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Each five-member team is composed of doctors, nurses, medical technologists and health program officers tasked with administering vaccines while providing field supervision and technical assistance to local health personnel.
DOH Ilocos Regional Director Helen D. Tobias said the campaign is focused on making sure that difficult terrain, damaged access routes and adverse weather do not leave vulnerable children behind.
“Our objective is clear: to reach as many eligible children as possible and ensure they receive the protection they need against measles and rubella despite the weather conditions,” Tobias said.
The deployment comes as health authorities intensify efforts to close immunization gaps, particularly among children living in areas where access to health facilities can be difficult.
The DOH is urging parents and caregivers of eligible children not to wait for routine health visits but to bring them to designated vaccination sites or coordinate directly with their local health offices and barangay health workers.
For health officials, the campaign is more than a vaccination drive—it is a race against preventable disease, with every missed child potentially leaving a gap in community protection.
With 23 teams now moving into communities that are hardest to reach, the DOH Ilocos Region is betting on aggressive fieldwork to push immunization coverage toward the 95-percent target and ensure that geography and flooding do not determine which children receive protection.
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