DOH holds Dengvaxia education campaign

CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Health in Central Visayas is doing a series of community-based forum about Dengvaxia vaccine to allay fears from the public after the government’s anti-dengue program became controversial.

DOH-7 medical officer Dr. Shelbay Blanco said they want to reassure the parents and guardians of the safety of their children who were earlier given the controversial vaccine.

“We are doing the Dengvaxia forum. This initially started last February but we are on full swing now. We are in municipalities and cities to assure parents that DOH is there to help them,” he said.

Cebu province was the fourth pilot area in the dengue vaccination program of DOH. The program was first introduced in the three highly endemic regions (Central Luzon; Calabarzon; and National Capital Region).

Blanco said DOH-7 personnel already catered to at least 14 local government units, including the cities of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue and the towns of Daanbantayan, Consolacion, Cordova, and Compostela.

Blanco said that health authorities want to raise awareness to parents and guardians, including other stakeholders in the area, so that they will be educated about the vaccine. He said that aside from parents and guardians, the teachers, municipal health officers, and barangay health workers also attended their forums.

DOH-7 medical officer Dr. Eugenia Mercedes Cañal said that health authorities explained to the parents not to immediately believe on hearsays as this will only cause panic. The public were advised to always ask from the experts like doctors.

She also urged parents to immediately accompany their children to the nearest health center if they exhibit symptoms of dengue fever for three to five days.

To recall, DOH suspended last year the dengue vaccination program after its own developer revealed that the vaccine poses risks to people without a history of dengue.

Cañal said they are still on heightened monitoring of all vaccinated children from Cebu province until now. Health authorities wanted to emphasize that children are afflicted with dengue because of mosquito bite and not because of the vaccine.

Based on the DOH-7 data, there were more than 160,000 children receiving the first shot of the dengue vaccine in Cebu. Dengue cases in Central Visayas increased significantly in 2016 and majority of these cases were reported in Cebu. This event prompted local officials to ask DOH to extend the program here. — FPL (FREEMAN)