Following a landmark tenure as president of the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland, Health Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa reaffirmed the Department of Health’s (DOH) strong commitment to bolstering routine immunization across the Philippines. His statement comes in response to a warning from the WHO Regional Office highlighting declining vaccine coverage and growing distrust in immunization across the Western Pacific.
As of May 10, 2025, the DOH has recorded 2,118 measles-rubella (MR) cases nationwide—2,068 of which are measles—marking an 8% increase compared to the same period last year. The top five regions with the highest MR case counts are:
- National Capital Region (642)
- CALABARZON (289)
- MIMAROPA (148)
- Central Luzon (146)
- Zamboanga Peninsula (137)
The current Case Fatality Rate (CFR) stands at 0.42%, slightly down from 0.46% the previous year.
A notable success story comes from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which saw a dramatic drop in cases—from 1,179 in 2024 to just 121 this year.
“Last year, President Marcos directed me to address the measles outbreak in BARMM. With the strong cooperation of our Bangsamoro brothers and sisters, we vaccinated over 1.2 million people under the Measles Outbreak Response Immunization (MORI) program,” said Secretary Herbosa. “This level of effort must become routine.”
Despite these successes, routine immunization remains below target. As of February 2025, the national Fully Immunized Child (FIC) coverage for 2024—referring to children who received all recommended vaccines before their first birthday—was just 64.85%, far from the 95% target set by the WHO and adopted by the DOH.
“Routine vaccination needs to be faster, higher, stronger, and most importantly—done together,” Herbosa emphasized, echoing the Olympic-inspired message he delivered at the WHA closing ceremony. He called on nations to respond swiftly to health threats, aim higher in achieving universal health coverage (UHC), and build stronger, more inclusive health systems.
Herbosa also cited the DOH’s rapid response to the 2024 Pertussis outbreak as further proof of the agency’s capacity. “When the President tasked me to control the Pertussis surge, intensified nationwide vaccination efforts brought the numbers down,” he said. From January 1 to May 10 this year, only 200 Pertussis cases were reported—a fifteen-fold decrease from 2,968 cases during the same period in 2024.
The DOH continues to push forward with its immunization efforts through targeted campaigns like the “Bakuna BayaniJuan: Big Catch-up Immunization”, which vaccinated 1,753,950 individuals in the National Capital Region between November 17 and December 16, 2024. Meanwhile, the School-Based Immunization program has reached 3.8 million students nationwide, with more activities planned throughout 2025.
With continued leadership and community cooperation, the DOH aims to close the immunization gap and protect every Filipino child from preventable diseases.