Anti-dengue Vaccine Program For School Children Is Optional — DOH

The Department of Health (DOH) clarified that the anti-dengue vaccine for Grade IV pupils in public schools is purely voluntary.

“It is still optional for parents to allow their child to be vaccinated (vaccination versus dengue). This is not mandatory,” said DOH Secretary Janette L. Garin when asked on the implementation of the new vaccination program.

Garin added that parents may signify their approval for their children’s inclusion in the government’s anti-dengue vaccine program through consent letters.

The anti-dengue vaccine program is set to commence in March, mainly for nine-year old children in public elementary public schools in the National Capital Region, Region III and Region IV-A, where a huge number of dengue cases were recorded.

Meanwhile, a second dose of the said vaccine will be administered to the children in September.

In March 2017, the same children will be given another shot to complete the essential vaccine doses.

“We expect many parents to avail it,” Secretary Garin added as she cited the beneficial effects of the said vaccines to the targeted children.

In preparation for the program, she said that they are coordinating with the Department of Education (DepEd) in a bid to disseminate the information to concerned parents and children.

At the same time, the DOH will be conduct orientations to health workers who will administer the vaccines.

Garin noted that the said children became the program’s targets due to the recommendation of experts that children aged 9-10 years old are the ones who are often vulnerable to the disease.

Based on a study also, dengue mosquitoes usually bite children two hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset.

Once children acquire the disease, they can be absent from school, lose their productivity and miss school activities which can impede their academic performance.

Meanwhile, parents of the victims can also be affected as they have to be absent from work in order to take care of their sick children.

Also, being a dengue victim incurs hospitalization costs and other financial loses.

With this, Garin added that providing vaccines for the said children is an important step in giving other ages in the population a sort of protection and immunity from strains of the deadly disease.

She also said that if children are vaccinated, the spread of the dengue infection can also be stopped at the same time.

“If you vaccinated them (the Grade IV pupils) you cut the life-cycle of the source,” she explained.

Dengue can be possibly transmitted to other people when a mosquito bit someone with dengue.

In a lifetime, an individual may be inflicted with dengue virus up to four times.

The vaccine was developed by Sanofi Pasteur, a French company, after series of long trials conducted wherein our country had been a part in Phases 1, 2 and 3 of the trials.

The country’s experts and scientists also participated in the said phases of trial that was completed for more than 20 years.

In December 2015, Mexico approved the sale of the world’s first anti-dengue vaccine. In the same month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its registration.

Currently, the market price of the vaccine is not yet revealed by its manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur.

Through a negotiation, the firm agreed to grant the country with huge discounts so that the most vulnerable sectors will be able to get it at an affordable price.

Last week, the DOH officially announced that President Benigno S. Aquino III had approved the allotment of funds amounting to PHP3.5 Billion for administering of the said dengue vaccines to the targeted children by March.

About 1,077,023 Grade IV children from the aforementioned regions will be the target of the program.

The funds came from the sin tax revenues (taxes from cigarettes and alcohol).

The program is part of the government’s Universal Health Care Program (Kalusugang Pangkalahatan) Health Agenda of which seeks to provide quality health services to every Filipino. (PNA) BNB/LSJ