Based on the 2001 Maternal and Child Health Survey (MCHS), 61.3 percent of approximately 2 million Filipino children 12 to 23 months old were fully immunized in 2001 as compared to 65.2 percent of children of the same ages based on the 2000 MCHS. The percentage of children fully immunized in rural areas registered a decrease of six percentage points - from 62.7 percent in 2000 to 56.5 percent in 2001. The percentage in urban areas decreased slightly -  from 68.0 percent in 2000 to 66.9 percent in 2001. A child is considered fully immunized if he/she has received BCG, 3 doses of DPT, 3 doses of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) and anti-measles vaccines before turning one year old.

The percentage of children fully immunized decreased in 12 regions by 0.4 to 13.0 percentage points. Western Visayas recorded the highest decrease (13.0 percentage points). The percentage increased in only four regions, namely, Cordillera Administrative Region, Metro Manila, Eastern Visayas, and Bicol Region.

Metro Manila led all regions in 2001 in the percentage of children fully immunized with 74.0 percent, followed by Cordillera Administrative Region (69.1 percent) and Western Visayas (67.0 percent). On the other hand, only one out of five children (21.3 percent) were fully immunized in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which registered the lowest percentage. The percentage of children who were fully immunized in the remaining regions of the country ranged from 46.1 percent to 67.0 percent.

In 2001, 93 percent of children 12 to 23 months old were vaccinated against at least some childhood diseases. Coverage rate was highest for BCG (91.2 percent) and first doses of DPT (90.3 percent) and OPV (89.0 percent) vaccines, while it was lowest for the third dose of Hepatitis B vaccine (18.8 percent). The drop out rates for DPT and polio vaccines, measured by the difference in coverage between first and third doses were 11 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

These are findings from the results of the 2001 Maternal and Child Health Survey (MCHS) conducted by the National Statistics Office with funding assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The 2001 MCHS was a rider to the April 2001 Labor Force Survey (LFS). A total of 5,998 females aged 15 to 49 years who have surviving children below three years old were interviewed for the 2001 MCHS.

Table 1. Percentage of children 12-23 months who are fully immunized according to the vaccination card or the mother’s report, by region, Philippines: 2000-2001

Source: National Statistics Office, 2001 Maternal and Child Health Survey

Table 2. Distribution of children aged 12 to 23 months who have received specified vaccines, and number and percentage of children fully immunized and children with a vaccination card, by residence, Philippines: 2001

Notes:

1. Record of Hepatitis B vaccination is available from the mother’s report only.
2. The fully immunized child must have completed BCG, DPT1, DPT2, DPT3, OPV1, OPV2, OPV3 and measles vaccines before the child is 12 months of age.
3. A child can receive more than one type of vaccine. Hence, number and percentages will not sum to totals.
4. Information is taken from the vaccination card, in case it is available from both mother’s report and vaccination card.
5. A child is considered to have a card if the mother reported that the child has a card, regardless of whether the card was seen by the interviewer or not.

Source: National Statistics Office, 2001 Maternal and Child Health Survey