DOH: Over 200k students administered dengue vaccine

Over 200,000 students have already received the first ever vaccine against dengue, the Department of Health (DOH) announced on Monday.

At a press conference, the DOH said a total of 204,397 children have been administered with the dengue vaccine since the vaccination program started on April 4.

The Philippines is the first country to implement dengue vaccination through school-based immunization approach. 

Early this month, DOH partnered with the Department of Education and the Department of the Interior and Local Government in launching the administration of dengue vaccines in Parang Elementary School in Marikina City. 

The DOH pushed through with the giving of free and new dengue vaccines even before the World Health Organization released its recommendation to administer the world’s first dengue vaccine. 

The dengue vaccine was developed by pharmaceutical company, Sanofi. Each student will be given three doses of the vaccine. The program will last for 20 months. 

Based on the data gathered by DOH in 2015, dengue incident cases and related deaths are recorded among children from ages 9-12 years old. 

According to the WHO, dengue or hemorrhagic fever is the world’s most common mosquito-borne virus, infecting an estimated 390 million people in more than 120 countries each year with fatalities reaching as high as 25,000 a year. 

Dengue cases are on the rise this dry season. As of April 2, a total of 33,748 suspected dengue cases were reported nationwide, mostly from regions IV-A, III and VII. 

Meanwhile, the DOH explained that an 11-year-old child who reportedly died due to the vaccine actually succumbed to pulmonary edema stemming from a congenital heart disease. The case was initially submitted to the National Adverse Event Following Immunization Committee. — RSJ/TJD, GMA News