Officials with the Philippines Department of Education are looking into a ‘no vaccination, no enrollment’ policy as the country is currently experiencing a large measles epidemic.

Public domain image/eunsookim7 via pixabay
Public domain image/eunsookim7 via pixabay

Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said Friday, “While DepEd is looking into different ways to regain the confidence of parents in immunization, the agency has made commitments with DOH in ensuring that the learners are protected”.

DepEd’s commitment to DOH include the development of consent form and evaluation form, which will categorize learners as “vaccinated,” “doubtful,” and “not vaccinated”; verification of school records and vaccination cards; gathering and sharing of data on the number of learners affected with measles; coordination with health center staff on learners, who are absent and whose parents did not give consent during vaccination; and follow-up on learners, who did not receive vaccination and those who opted to be vaccinated by private practitioner.

“Learners, parents, teaching and non-academic personnel, and stakeholders may rest assured that the Department is working closely with DOH in monitoring measles cases and in strengthening efforts to combat the disease,” she added.

Since the beginning of the year the Philippines has recorded 11,459 measles cases, including 189 fatalities and it’s not expected to end anytime soon.

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