App lets kids given Dengvaxia shots report symptoms

Through a mobile application, parents of children vaccinated with Dengvaxia may now easily report if they notice symptoms of illness.

"In essence, the Dengvaxia [mobile application] is an online, digital and real-time monitoring of the status of the children na na-vaccinate ng Dengvaxia," said Department of Education Undersecretary Alain Del Pascua at the app's launch on Tuesday.

According to a 24 Oras report by Raffy Tima, two app developers created the Dengvaxia Vaccinee Monitoring System (DMVS) on Galileo's Abizo app for Android and iPhone users.

Once the Department of Health (DOH) and the DepEd verify that a person was administered Dengvaxia, he or she may report his or her symptoms using the mobile app.

"Mahirap mag-report, halimbawa ng pamamantal sa balat, 'di ba, so pwede 'yan ita-type mo lang na namamantal 'yung balat mo at kunan mo lang ng picture 'yung balat mo," said Galileo founder Jun Lozada.

The DepEd assured the public that the personal information of those using the app will be protected.

"It's very important issue and we are all sensitive and careful about maintaining their privacy," DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones said.

The DOH, for its part, stressed that its aim is to prevent the increasing number of deaths that are believed to be connected with the controversial dengue vaccine.

"It's very important that we bring it down about half of our current case fatality ratio of about .5 to .6 percent of the total number of cases," DOH chief Francisco Duque said.

Data from DOH showed that around 891,000 children—aged nine and above—from public schools in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Cebu were vaccinated with Dengvaxia since the department's immunization program was launched in April 2016.

The Health department stopped the program in December last year after Sanofi Pasteur issued an advisory that Dengvaxia should not be given to people who have not been afflicted by dengue. — Anna Felicia Bajo/BM, GMA News