Amended scope of basic immunization services
- Section 1 amends Section 2 of Presidential Decree No. 996 to define the Scope of basic immunization services.
- Basic immunization services include vaccination against: (a) BCG (tuberculosis), (b) diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, (c) oral poliomyelitis, (d) measles, (e) rubella, and (f) Hepatitis-B.
- Basic immunization services include “such other basic immunization services for infants and children below eight years of age as determined by the Secretary of Health in a department circular.”
- Infants and children covered by the scope are those below eight (8) years of age.
- Section 1 requires that newborn infants of women with Hepatitis-B receive Hepatitis-B immunization within twenty-four (24) hours after birth.
Hepatitis-B vaccination timing requirement
- Hepatitis-B immunization forms part of basic immunization services for infants and children below eight (8) years old under the amended scope.
- Newborn infants of women with Hepatitis-B must be given Hepatitis-B immunization within twenty-four (24) hours after birth.
Funding and appropriation mechanism
- Section 2 requires that the amount necessary to carry out Republic Act No. 7846 be included in the General Appropriations Act of the year following its enactment into law.
- Section 2 also provides that funding inclusion continues in subsequent General Appropriations Acts thereafter.
Take effect through approval and publication
- Section 3 states that Republic Act No. 7846 takes effect upon its approval.
- Section 3 further provides that effectivity depends on completing publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.