Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan of the Bicol Saro party-list on Monday pushed for the enactment of a measure that aims to expand the list of free vaccines given to Filipinos in all life stages.
Yamsuan said House Bill (HB) 1092, which he co-authored, involves including the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, and immunization from the rotavirus, Japanese encephalitis, human papilloma virus (HPV), and boosters for measles, rubella, tetanus, and diphtheria in the list of vaccine-preventable diseases covered by the government’s National Immunization Program.
The expanded list shall also include other types of vaccines as determined by the Secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) upon the recommendation of Congress and a health experts’ group created under the bill.
Under the current law, Yamsuan stated Republic Act 10152, the mandatory basic immunization services are limited to tuberculosis; diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis; poliomyelitis; measles; mumps; Rubella or German measles; hepatitis-B; and the H. Influenza type B (HIB).
“These only cover infants and children,” Yamsuan said, adding that: “The emergence of more vaccine-preventable diseases underscore the need to expand the list of the government’s mandatory immunization program for infants, children, and other Filipinos in all life stages. We should be proactive and always be prepared instead of just being reactive when it comes to the issue of health, especially of our children’s.”
Yamsuan pushed for the congressional approval of this measure, along with the bill that aims to provide free annual medical checkups for all Filipinos (HB 1785), after data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) found that out-of-pocket health-related payments of families accounted for a worrisome 44.4 percent of the country’s total health expenditures in 2023.
“This means that a big chunk of expenses for medical treatment and hospitalization still comes from the pockets of many Filipinos,” he said.
Yamsuan said consultations with residents in his home city in Parañaque also show that keeping healthy is their top concern.
“If we invest in preventive healthcare such as providing free vaccines and free medical checkups, we can avert incurring bigger medical expenses that bring problems, stress and feelings of hopelessness to many Filipinos,” said Yamsuan, who also co-authored the proposed Free Annual Medical Checkup Act.
