DOH sees pertussis vaccine shortage in May

There may be a shortage of vaccines against the “whooping cough” or pertussis next month amid the outbreak of the highly contagious respiratory infection in some parts of the country, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said Monday.

Herbosa said that currently, the country still has “enough” supply of the pentavalent vaccine which gives protection against pertussis, as well as diphtheria, tetanus, Hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenzae type B.

“We have enough, but magkakaroon tayo ng shortage some time in May. Ito ‘yung ina-address naming gap,” the Health chief said in a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview.

(We have enough vaccines, but we will have a shortage sometime in May. This is the gap we are addressing.)

Herbosa said that the 5-in-1 vaccine which the DOH initially ordered will only arrive in June. As the country’s stock will get depleted in May, he said he may need to order an older type of vaccine called DPT, which could only fight off diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis.

“Ang vaccine, kapag inorder mo, saka pa lang nila ima-manufacture 'yan tapos may lag time. So we ordered the doses (pentavalent) for this year, earlier this year, may 120 days, June pa siya darating eh ‘yung supply ko mauubos ng May,” he said.

(They will only manufacture vaccines once you order it, so it has a lag time. We ordered doses of the pentavalent vaccine earlier this year, and it would be delivered 120 days after or in June. Our vaccine supply will get exhausted by May.)

“So may parang short gap ako. Ang hirap din mag-recommend na magpabakuna kayo, tapos magagalit sila sa'kin, hindi pa dumating sa health center,” he added.

(There’s a short gap. It’s difficult to encourage the public to get the vaccines when there are none arriving at health centers. They might get angry at me.)

The DOH has underscored the importance of vaccination to combat pertussis, saying that it is safe and effective.

Infants as young as six weeks old may already receive the pentavalent vaccine for free at government health centers. Children from 1-6 years old, meanwhile, may get a booster dose.

Older children, as well as adults and pregnant women, were advised by DOH to consult a doctor to know the appropriate vaccine that would protect them against pertussis.

Herbosa said that about 890 cases of pertussis have been reported in the country since the year started. About 80% of these cases involve kids aged five years and below.

According to the DOH, pertussis starts as a mild cough and cold that lasts about two weeks, followed by “paroxysms or fits of coughing” which lasts up to six weeks.

Patients can also experience vomiting immediately after coughing, and fever, while infants may turn cyanotic or bluish when coughing.—AOL, GMA Integrated News