Vaccine campaign underway to fight polio outbreak in the Philippines

The Philippines initiated a vaccination campaign on October 14, 2019, nearly a month after Manila declared a polio outbreak on September 19. 

The country had been free from the polio virus for almost two decades before two cases were confirmed.

The Philippines has a low rate of vaccination according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), which blames declining public trust in vaccines as well as a lack of access to health care facilities. 

The low rate of immunisation has increased the risk of children being infected by vaccine-derived polio viruses.