THE Department of Education (DepEd) Davao Region reported that school-based immunization (SBI) for Grades 1, 4, and 7 learners has started in Davao City public schools and will run until December this year.
Dr. Rachelle Jean Sanchez-Lacurom, medical officer and School Health Section chief of DepEd-Davao, said in an interview on Davao City Disaster Radio on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, that school vaccination began only this week and that there is still no official number of covered schools.
"Walang exact data, as of this week lang po nag-start kasi 'yong ating immunization (There's no exact data yet because our immunization only started this week)," she said.
Vaccines and target learners
Precious Dominique Antioquia, district health nurse II and National Immunization Program manager of the Davao City Health Office (CHO), said Grade 1 and Grade 7 learners receive the measles-rubella (MR) and tetanus-diphtheria (Td) vaccines. In contrast, Grade 4 girls receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine against cervical cancer.
She said Grades 1 and 7 learners get both shots on the same day. For many learners, the doses serve as boosters, since they first receive the MR vaccine at nine months old.
"Kung pagka nine months nila is gihatagan sila then mag-serve na lang siya as booster dose (If they were given [the vaccine] when they turned nine months old, then it will just serve as a booster dose),” Antioquia said.
Learners who completed their vaccines as babies may still join, she said, and parents are asked to bring their children's vaccination cards so health workers can verify the doses already received.
DepEd's role, consent
Sanchez-Lacurom said DepEd provides the venue and handles planning and coordination with the CHO and the Department of Health (DOH), including the vaccination schedule, the list of target learners, and parent education.
"So of course ang papel sa DepEd ang sa pagplano, pag-coordinate o pag-facilitate sa pag-implement na sa program sa eskwelahan (So of course DepEd's role is planning, coordinating or facilitating the implementation of the program in the schools)," she said.
Parents' consent is secured before vaccination, and the consent form also lists illnesses and allergies that may rule out a child for vaccination, she said. The school holds orientations during parent-teacher association meetings.
Lacurom added that parents have been "very participative," but getting consent remains somewhat challenging because some parents fear the vaccines.
“Actually, ang mga misconceptions, kasagaran kay ‘ang bakuna is makamatay’. Of course, fake news. Gikan na siya sa mga unverified sources, especially sa kaning social media,” she said. (Actually, common misconceptions are usually like ‘vaccines are deadly’. Of course, that's fake news. That comes from unverified sources, especially on social media.)
Safety measures, side effects
Before vaccination, learners undergo a health assessment, Antioquia said, adding that those with only a simple cough or cold may still be vaccinated.
Sanchez-Lacurom said vaccinated learners are observed for about 15 minutes or more for Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI). Emergency kits are on hand, and the CHO has hotlines and a referral system for serious reactions.
Antioquia said pain at the injection site and mild fever are normal.
"The mild fever din po, normal lang po siya ma'am within the first twenty-four hours (Mild fever is also normal within the first 24 hours)," she said.
The officer added that parents should watch for rashes all over the body and difficulty breathing, which need referral to a hospital. She advised parents to consult school nurses, doctors, or health centers before giving their child any medicine.
AEFI hotlines are given during school orientations, and hospitals have AEFI fast lanes, Antioquia said.
"We have SPMC po. Different hospitals po na mga AEFI fast lane po (We have SPMC and different hospitals with AEFI fast lanes)," she said, referring to the Southern Philippines Medical Center.
Missed doses free at health centers
Learners who miss the school schedule can get free vaccines at health centers, which hold routine immunization every Wednesday, Antioquia said. Catch-up vaccination is done weekly, depending on each district's schedule.
Sanchez-Lacurom said parents may ask their children's school heads or district health centers for vaccination dates, since each district health office decides which schools it covers.
Regional, national targets
The DOH-Davao Center for Health Development (DOH-DCHD) earlier said it aims to vaccinate 105,707 Grade 1 and 105,001 Grade 7 learners with MR and Td, and 54,972 Grade 4 girls with HPV across the region, during its SBI media engagement on Sept. 18, 2026.
In Davao Oriental, the Caraga Municipal Health Office led a Bakuna Eskwela kick-off with the provincial health office and DOH-DCHD, which also included HPV shots for Grade 5 girls who had not yet received the vaccine, DOH-Davao said in a Facebook post on October 13, 2026.
Nationwide, DepEd targets about 3.6 million Grade 1 and Grade 7 learners for MR and Td, and nearly one million Grade 4 girls for HPV, for School Year 2026-2027.
In 2024, one Davao City district vaccinated only 3,041 of its 9,378 target Grade 1 learners, or 42 percent, prompting an extension of the drive to January 2025.
Sanchez-Lacurom said the program's success will be measured not only by coverage of the target population but also by the quality of its implementation.
"Importante ang kalidad sa coordination, ang pagsunod sa safety protocols, and reporting. And of course, feedback gikan sa mga ginikanan (What's important is the quality of coordination, following the safety protocols, and reporting. And of course, the feedback from parents)," she said. GRS