The Department of Health (DoH) warned Saturday that Mindanao remains at risk for a measles outbreak as many children in the region have yet to be vaccinated.

Health Secretary Dr. Teodoro “Ted” Herbosa urged parents to have their unvaccinated children receive the measles vaccine, noting that Mindanao is still below the 95 percent immunization threshold recommended by the DoH.

According to data from the DoH’s “Ligtas Tigdas” program this February, roughly 520,000 children under five remain unvaccinated out of nearly 2.8 million children across Mindanao and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Herbosa explained that the high immunization target is aimed at achieving herd immunity, a concept also applied during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“When many are unvaccinated, the virus spreads faster, and outbreaks happen more often because there are many vulnerable kids,” he said in Filipino.

“If 95 percent are protected, people with measles won’t be able to spread the virus because most individuals around them are vaccinated.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) supports this approach, emphasizing that herd immunity provides indirect protection against infectious diseases, either through vaccination or immunity from previous infections.

The DoH chief also stressed the importance of vaccinating children at an early age to prevent school outbreaks:

“I want to remind everyone: keep going. Take your children to get vaccinated. The two doses of the measles vaccine are given between nine and 13 months of age.”

Measles is highly contagious and tends to surge during warmer months from March to June. From January to May 2025, the Philippines recorded 2,608 cases, the highest in the East Asia and Pacific region since 2020, according to the WHO.

Herbosa’s call comes as the DoH ramps up efforts to protect children and prevent new measles outbreaks across the region.