The supply of pentavalent vaccine in Cagayan de Oro, the vaccine that protects a person from pertussis or whooping cough, is not sufficient, the City Health Office (CHO) has admitted.

The CHO only has 2,000 doses of pentavalent vaccine available, as of this writing. Some barangay health centers have not had stocks for several days.

“Nakahatag pami last week og pentavalent then gi-prioritize lang namo katong wala pa bisan first dose so nakahatag mi daghan last week then nahurot pud siya. Naa to sa mga 40 doses,” Eric Henri Yee, a nurse of the Department of Health-Northern Mindanao (DOH-10), said.

“Dili man kay sa Cagayan de Oro lang o Region 10 but the entire country naa tay limited availability sa atong vaccine,” DOH-10 Regional Epidemiology Surveillance and Disaster Response Unit (RESDRU) OIC, Dr. Jasper Kent Ola, added.

City Councilor Malou Gaane who chairs the City Council Committee on Health said the local government is trying its best to vaccinate the residents, especially children, against pertussis.

“Limitado ang supply pero gapaningkamot ang siyudad nga mabakunahan gyud ang kabatan-onan,” Gaane said.

From January to March 2024, RESDRU-10 said six pertussis cases were recorded in Northern Mindanao. No case was recorded in the same period in 2023.

“Duha niini ang kumpirmado, duha pud ang pending ug duha ang negative ang result. Ang distribution niini, isa sa Misamis Occidental, isa sa Misamis Oriental, isa sa Bukidnon, ug tulo sa Cagayan de Oro,” Ola said.

All patients were one year old and below and were unvaccinated. They were admitted to different health care facilities for proper management and treatment and were subsequently discharged.