PCP to help identify children vaccinated with Dengvaxia by private pediatricians

MANILA --- The Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) has expressed concern over the condition of the more than 800-thousand children who received Dengvaxia vaccine under the government’s mass immunization program. The PCP is more worried about the children who received the vaccination from private doctors. With this, the group of doctors vowed to help the Department of Health (DOH) in identifying the individuals vaccinated with Dengvaxia by private pediatricians. “It’s a call for all of us to make sure that these preventable diseases particularly the vaccine-preventable diseases should be adequately addressed by making sure that we look at of course the efficacy as well as the safety of the vaccines,” said Dr. Mario Panaligan of Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Fatima Gimenez, a pediatrician who specializes in contagious diseases said they will immediately submit lists of names of individuals who received the vaccine in private medical facilities to the Health Department. “We’ve been asked to give a list to the Department of Health of all the names of the people . . . and then we will monitor for the next couple of years,” she said. The doctors reminded parents to immediately bring their children to the nearest hospital if symptoms of dengue begins to show after receiving Dengvaxia. “Importante sa Dengue siyempre iyong hydration o pagbibigay ng fluids. Very crucial. Sabi ko nga lumalapot ang dugo. Fluid ang pinaka- importante diyan. Hindi dapat matakot sa pagdudugo kundi sa paglapot ng dugo,” Panaligan said. (What’s important when addressing dengue is hydration or the administration of more fluids. It’s very crucial. When the blood thickens, you should drink more fluids. They should not fear the bleeding, but the thickening of blood.) Malacañang, meanwhile, has once again vowed to hold accountable the individuals responsible for the purchase and distribution of the controversial vaccine. The Palace said the President also wants to demand from the pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur to return the amount the Philippine government paid them. Malacañang noted this is for the manufacturer’s alleged willful hiding of information about the negative effects of Dengvaxia to people who received it without prior dengue infection. – Aiko Miguel | UNTV News & Rescue