152 thousand children in Cebu get Dengvaxia shots
In the latest report the PHO received, four children who were administered with Dengvaxia in Cebu Province exhibited dengue symptoms. File
CEBU, Philippines — A total of 152,000 children in Cebu Province have been vaccinated with the controversial dengue vaccine Dengvaxia, according to the consolidated data of the Provincial Health Office (PHO).
"Yes, naka-submit na ang mga MHUs (Municipal Health Units) sa ilang data," said PHO Head Dr. Rene Catan.
He added that the different municipal health officers also submitted a copy of their data to the regional office of the Department of Health (DOH).
In the latest report the PHO received, four children who were administered with Dengvaxia in Cebu Province exhibited dengue symptoms.
"We have four cases of dengue reported over the Christmas season," he confirmed.
Three are from Tuburan town while the other one is from Pinamungajan. All four are monitored to ensure that the government can assist them in case more intensive medical attention and response is needed.
At present, the effort of all health workers across the province to profile the children who were vaccinated continues.
According to Catan, the objective is to determine who among the children have had a history of dengue before they were injected with Dengvaxia.
This method is done following the claims that injecting Dengvaxia to a person without a prior history with dengue might get more complications, compared to those who had a history.
PHO Dengue Coordinator Cyril Pangatuan said that the trend of the dengue cases in the past two years have been going down. He said that despite this, PHO continues to strengthen their anti-dengue programs.
In fact, the office conducted a dengue seminar on elementary students in Danao City last Wednesday for them to be informed on how they can counter dengue through cleaning the surroundings and being wary of stored water.
Making dengue oil traps was also part of the program. This method, Pangatuan said, can help minimize the breeding of mosquitos by preventing the eggs from developing into larvae. With lesser new mosquitos, the possibility of getting bitten by a dengue-carrying mosquito also drops.
Aside from the seminar, there were also other activities held last week that include free minor and major operations on thyroid, breast masses, cysts, lipomas, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, herniorrhaphy, hemorrhoidectomy, and fractures that were conducted at the Danao City Provincial Hospital.
The activity was a tie-up between the city government, the Capitol, and the DOH.
"Tanang programs sa PHO kay among gi-discuss, walay gipili," said Pangatuan.
Among these are the seminars on maternal, neo-natal, child health and nutrition, family planning, discussion on non-communicable diseases, lifestyle diseases, health emergency management, HIV awareness, adolescent and mental health.
In addition, there were also medical and dental consultations.
The weeklong activity is the first out-of-town endeavor of the PHO this year.
Catan emphasized that public health program is the top priority of the Cebu Provincial Government with its P1.4 billion allocation this year. (FREEMAN)
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