In the quiet weeks before the holidays, when the country's attention was fixed on a pandemic, a coalition of cities and a healthcare company gathered online to remind people of an older, steadier threat. Pneumonia, which claims tens of thousands of Filipino lives each year and falls hardest on grandparents whose bodies have grown less able to resist it, can be met with a vaccine that the national government already offers free to indigent seniors. The gathering was less about a new discovery than about the slow work of trust, of mayors, nurses, and doctors telling their communities that protec
League of Cities and MSD Webinar Urges Vaccination to Protect Filipino Seniors From Pneumonia
Pneumonia causes over 57,000 deaths in the Philippines annually, with elderly Filipinos among the most vulnerable.
It is easy to forget that other killer diseases deserve serious attention
Mark
Why hold a pneumonia webinar in the middle of a pandemic?
Mimi
Because the organizers argue COVID has crowded out everything else. Pneumonia killed 57,809 Filipinos in 2016 alone, and that's not a small number to lose sight of.
Mark
Who's most at risk?
Mimi
Seniors, 60 and older. Aging weakens the immune system, and conditions like diabetes or heart and kidney disease make complications more likely.
Luke
Worth noting that 57,809 is a 2016 figure, and it covers all ages. The article says over 57,000 annually for a decade, but it doesn't break out how many were seniors.
Mark
What does the free vaccine look like in practice?
Mimi
Under the Senior Citizens Act, the DOH provides it to indigent seniors through the National Immunization Program. One dose at 60, another after five years, and one dose for those 65 and above.
Luke
That schedule is stated a bit confusingly in the piece. I'd want the DOH's own guidance before relying on it.
Mark
What did the local officials contribute?
Mimi
Bago City and Candon described their own programs. Bago's mayor and head nurse spoke, and Candon's mayor presented his city's strategies.
Luke
But we don't get results. No coverage rates, no outcomes. The article describes programs, not their effect.
Mark
And the "2 to 3 million lives a year" figure?
Luke
It's presented as proven, but no source is named. Also, MSD is a vaccine maker co-leading the campaign, so readers should keep that in mind.
Il Polso
- Pneumonia kills more than 57,000 Filipinos a year, yet it slips beneath the louder noise of the pandemic.
- Older adults, weakened by age and often by diabetes or chronic lung and heart disease, face the gravest danger.
- A free pneumococcal vaccine exists under the Senior Citizens Act, but many seniors and families still hesitate to take it.
- Cities such as Bago and Candon are testing local campaigns, while the Bakuna Muna! effort works to rebuild confidence before the next season of illness.
In the quiet weeks before the holidays, when the country's attention was fixed on a pandemic, a coalition of cities and a healthcare company gathered online to remind people of an older, steadier threat. Pneumonia, which claims tens of thousands of Filipino lives each year and falls hardest on grandparents whose bodies have grown less able to resist it, can be met with a vaccine that the national government already offers free to indigent seniors. The gathering was less about a new discovery than about the slow work of trust, of mayors, nurses, and doctors telling their communities that protection is available and worth accepting.
On December 10, the League of Cities of the Philippines and the healthcare company MSD held a webinar, Bakunado, Protektado, streamed on the LCP Facebook page. Timed close to the holidays, it framed vaccination as a gift to lolos and lolas, the grandparents whose protection against pneumonia is the focus of the session.
The speakers spanned medicine and government. Dr. Regina Berba of UP-PGH explained why immunization matters for older people. Mayors and health workers from Bago City and Candon shared what has worked in their own communities, and Usec. Myrna Cabotaje of the Department of Health described the national program and current campaigns. General Santos City Mayor Ronnel Rivera opened the event, and LCP Executive Director Atty. Shereen Gail Yu-Pamintuan moderated the forum.
The legal foundation is the Senior Citizens Act, which requires the DOH to provide free pneumonia vaccination to indigent seniors through the National Immunization Program. Seniors receive a pneumococcal dose at 60 and another five years later, or a single dose at 65 and above, at no cost.
Pneumonia, which inflames the air sacs and can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi, has taken more than 57,000 Filipino lives a year over the past decade. Aging weakens immunity, and the danger grows for seniors with chronic conditions. Vaccination is estimated to save two to three million lives a year worldwide, but vaccine hesitancy threatens that progress. MSD and partners, including the LCP, have launched Bakuna Muna! to restore public confidence, with its senior pneumonia component titled Bakunado si Lolo't Lola, Iwas Pulmonya.
Several local governments have already begun awareness drives and are working with the DOH to reach indigent seniors. The organizers' hope is that informed cities will produce informed communities, and fewer Filipinos lost to illnesses a vaccine can prevent.
On December 10, the League of Cities of the Philippines and the healthcare company MSD in the Philippines went live on the LCP Facebook Page with a webinar called Bakunado, Protektado: Stakeholder Synergies in Building Vaccine Resilient Cities. The timing was deliberate. With the holidays close, the organizers framed health as the best gift for lolos and lolas, and the session focused on vaccination as protection for the elderly against preventable disease, pneumonia in particular.
The program drew speakers from medicine, city government, and the national health department. Dr. Regina Berba, an infectious disease specialist who heads the Hospital Infection Control Unit at UP-PGH, lectured on why immunization matters for older people. Mayor Nicholas Yulo of Bago City, Negros Occidental, and Nona Obando, head nurse of the Bago City Health Office, described their city's elderly immunization program and the practices that have worked. Mayor Ericson Singson, MD, of Candon, Ilocos Sur, presented Candon's strategies for advocating and carrying out its elderly vaccination effort. Usec. Myrna Cabotaje, MD, of the Department of Health spoke on the national immunization program for seniors and the government's current vaccination campaigns.
General Santos City Mayor Ronnel Rivera, the LCP national vice chairman, opened the event. LCP Executive Director Atty. Shereen Gail Yu-Pamintuan moderated the open forum.
The legal footing is the Senior Citizens Act, which directs the DOH to give free pneumonia vaccination to seniors in indigent communities. That duty is carried out through the National Immunization Program, which has made the shot free and easier to get at health centers and local governments nationwide. Under the DOH schedule, a senior receives one pneumococcal dose at 60 and another five years later. Those aged 65 and above receive a single dose. The DOH provides the vaccine at no cost.
The webinar's backdrop was the pandemic, which has absorbed most health attention. The source notes that this makes it easy to overlook other killers. Pneumonia is one of them. Globally it is considered the leading cause of death in both children and the elderly. In the Philippines it has accounted for more than 57,000 deaths a year over the past decade. In 2016 alone, 57,809 deaths were recorded, placing it among the country's top five causes of death.
Older Filipinos, those 60 and above, are among the most exposed, largely because aging weakens the immune system. Pneumonia inflames the air sacs in one or both lungs and can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. Symptoms include difficulty breathing, coughing, fever, and weakness. In elderly patients, existing conditions such as diabetes or chronic lung, kidney, or heart disease raise the likelihood of severe complications, hospitalization, and death.
Vaccination is the main defense, and the article cites estimates that it saves 2 to 3 million lives a year, or about five lives a day. The stated threat to that progress is vaccine hesitancy. To counter it, MSD and partners including the LCP lead an advocacy campaign called Bakuna Muna!, which aims to restore and sustain public confidence in vaccines, especially in cities. Its pneumonia component for seniors is titled Bakunado si Lolo't Lola, Iwas Pulmonya.
Several local government units have already launched that awareness campaign, offering disease lectures and information, education, and communication materials for older residents. They are also working with the DOH to deliver free vaccination to indigent seniors. The organizers' bet is that better-informed cities will produce better-informed communities, and fewer Filipinos suffering from diseases a vaccine can prevent.
Citazioni salienti
Vaccine hesitancy can threaten the progress made in protecting Filipinos against preventable diseases like pneumonia (paraphrase of the article).— Manila Standard report on the webinar
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