Chief Minister calls on BARMM parents to vaccinate their young children against measles and rubella

COTABATO CITY (PNA) – The chief minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has asked parents of the five provinces of the region to vaccinate their children against measles and rubella from October 26 to October 25. November this year.

BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim said the region’s Health Ministry focused on strengthening the campaign against measles and rubella that is targeting some 500,000 children in the region from nine months to five years of age.

“This vaccination campaign is important to us for our children,” Ebrahim said in a video message here Thursday.

The BARMM health ministry, he said, has ensured that local transmission of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) would not occur during immunization, since health workers will be equipped with personal protective equipment and will practice minimum health protocols. .

He added that safe physical distancing and frequent hand washing by health workers will also be observed at immunization sites.

“We also ask all parents and young children to wear masks and face shields,” Ebrahim said. He noted that vaccines are safe and effective as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the past three decades.

“If your children ever have a cough, cold, or fever symptoms, they should first be seen by our doctors, nurses, or trained health personnel,” Ebrahim said.

Muslim religious leaders of the regional Darul Ifta (House of Opinion) passed a “fatwa” (Islamic sentence) citing immunization as permissive in Islam.