Catch-up measles immunization
Few provinces experience measles outbreak
The maps in Figure 3 shows that after the 2011 “Iligtas sa Tigdas and Pinas!” nationwide measles immunization campaign, there are still few remaining provinces experiencing measles outbreak. During the 2011 campaign, 58,061 (86%) 9 months to under 8 year old children out 67,312 received MR vaccine. The 95% measles immunization coverage to obtain high population immunity (herd immunity) was not achieved. In addition, many areas have 3x higher actual population than the official projected population. Under this circumstances, it is difficult to monitor any immunization activity, whether campaign or routine.
PLACE THE TWO MAPS HERE
Measles ssurveillance data for Cavite shows that while most of the confirmed measles cases belong to teen-agers and young adults, there are still significant number of cases among the under 5 year olds. Unless, the immunity gap among this age-group is closed, sustained measles circulation maybe unavoidable.