BY GROUP

1. Prepare an infomercial that is intended to raise awareness and motivate mothers to bring their
children for immunization.

2. It should include the following

a) the different important vaccines
b) schedules of vaccination based on EPI
c) misconceptions on vaccination
d) advantages of vaccination

3. Summarize your infomercial by encouraging parents to have their children immunized

One child dies every 20 seconds from a disease that could have been prevented by a vaccine. Why?
Because 1 in 5 children worldwide still do not have access to the life-saving immunizations that keep
children healthy.

Fortunately, immunization programs including vaccinations, have been implemented and are relatively
accessible here in the Philippines. These programs have successfully reduced the under-five mortality
rates from 58.2% in 1990 to just 27.3% in 2019. These “under-five” mortality cases include a huge
portion of vaccine-preventable infections and diseases.

The Philippine Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) is a program that ensures infants or children
and mothers have access to routinely recommended vaccines. These include one dose of the Bacille
Calmette Guerin vaccine for Tuberculosis and one dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine for Hepatitis B virus –
both taken by infants at birth. Three doses of the Oral Poliovirus vaccine for Poliomyelitis and the DPT
vaccine for Diphtheria, Pertussis, and Tetanus given to infants after 6 th, 10th, and 14th week. One dose of
the Inactivated Polio Vaccine for Poliomyelitis, given to the infant 14 weeks after birth. Three doses of
the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine for pneumonia and meningitis, given at 6 th, 10th, and 14th week to
infants. Lastly, two doses of the MMR vaccine for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella, given to infants 9
months and one year after they’re born.

Although vaccines have been proven generally safe and very effective, it is still plagued with stigma,
especially from people without access to well-grounded education. Some of the most common
misconceptions surrounding vaccines are:

Vaccines cause autism.

This claim stems from a discredited and retracted study that linked the MMR vaccine to autism.
Unfortunately, this flawed study has kicked off a resilient storm of misinformation. Hundreds of studies
across the globe have shown time and time again that there is no connection between the two.

Vaccines are used to microchip people.

The internet can be beneficial for learning more about your health, but it can also be fertile ground for
misinformation - particularly during the coronavirus pandemic. There are some claims that vaccines are
or will be used to microchip people so they can be tracked or controlled through 5G cell phone towers.
This is not only false, but impossible. Evidence suggests that this conspiracy theory was spread by people
seeking to sow disinformation and confusion.
Infant immune systems can't handle so many vaccines.
Infant immune systems are stronger than you might think. Based on the number of antibodies present in
the blood, a baby would theoretically have the ability to respond to around 10,000 vaccines at one time.
Even if all scheduled vaccines were given at once, it would only use up slightly less than 0.1% of a baby's
immune capacity.

Natural immunity is better than vaccine-acquired immunity.

In some cases, natural immunity — meaning actually catching a disease and getting sick– results in a
stronger immunity to the disease than a vaccination. However, the dangers of this approach far
outweigh the relative benefits. If you wanted to gain immunity to measles, for example, by contracting
the disease, you would face a 1 in 500 chance of death from your symptoms. In contrast, the number of
people who have had severe allergic reactions from an MMR vaccine, is less than one-in-one million.

Vaccines contain toxic ingredients.

Dosage is everything when it comes to toxicity. Any substance—even water—can be toxic in large doses.
Some vaccines contain ingredients like formaldehyde and aluminum, but these trace amounts are so
small that they're not considered toxic or harmful.

Aside from believing these misconceptions, many of us don’t know the benefits of getting vaccinated.

Vaccines save lives.

Over the years, vaccines have prevented countless cases of disease and disability, and have saved
millions of lives. For example, polio, which caused hundreds of thousands of cases each year globally,
was one of the most dreaded childhood diseases of the 20th century with annual epidemics. But,
through successful vaccination programs around the world, polio is almost gone from the world.

Vaccines Protect Individuals, Families and Communities.

Did you know that when you get vaccinated, you’re not only protecting yourself, but you are also
protecting your family and your community from contagious and dangerous diseases? If we have high
vaccination rates in every community, we are able to keep diseases from spreading.

Vaccines are Cost-Saving.

It is much easier to prevent diseases than to treat them. Vaccine-preventable diseases can be very costly
resulting in doctor’s visits, hospitalizations, and premature deaths. Additionally, national, state and local
outbreak responses also take a lot of time, money and manpower.
Vaccines are the world's safest method to protect children from life-threatening diseases.

It’s fine to doubt and it’s fair to question things, especially those that concern your child’s health and
safety. But before you accept and spread misinformation, it is your responsibility to educate yourself.

Today, we don’t have to worry about the diseases that used to be the biggest fears back when
vaccination wasn’t publicly implemented, and that is thanks to the advent and the continuing
development on immunizations.

“All children, no matter where they live or what their circumstances are, have the right to survive and
thrive, safe from deadly diseases.”- Dr. Robin Nandy, Chief of Immunization at UNICEF.

Does your fear overweigh your child’s right to life and survival?

Vaccination saves 2 to 3 million children each year from deadly diseases, on the other hand, 1.5 million
still die from vaccine-preventable diseases each year.

Which side are you willing to put your children on? Life isn’t a gamble – and theirs shouldn’t be.

References:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). Global Health Security: immunization.
https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/security/immunization.htm
Dignity Health. (2016). 5 Common Misconceptions About Vaccines.
https://www.dignityhealth.org/articles/5-common-misconceptions-about-vaccines
Department of Health. (n.d.). Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI. )https://doh.gov.ph/expanded-
program-on-immunization
Our World in Data. (2019). Vaccination. https://ourworldindata.org/vaccination
PIDSP. (2021). Childhood Immunizations Schedule 2021. https://pps.org.ph/wp-
content/uploads/2021/03/CHILDHOOD-IMMUNIZATION-SCHEDULE-2021-edited.pdf
Statista. (2022). Under-five child mortality rate in the Philippines from 2015 to 2019.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/696853/philippines-under-five-child-mortality-rate/
UNICEF. (n.d.). Immunization. https://www.unicef.org/immunization
UNICEF. (2017). UNICEF reaches almost half of the world's children with life-saving vaccines.
https://www.unicef.org/turkey/en/node/1691
University of Maryland Medical System. (2020). 10 Common Vaccine Myths Busted.
https://www.umms.org/coronavirus/covid-vaccine/facts/myths-busted
Vaccinate Your Family. (2021). Vaccine Benefits. https://vaccinateyourfamily.org/why-
vaccinate/vaccine-benefits/