The Department of Health (DOH) said it is currently exploring ways to procure the necessary vaccines needed against monkeypox.
Monkeypox vaccination is not yet included in the country's national immunization program, the DOH said.
"Although there is a monkeypox vaccine developed already, according to WHO (World Health Organization) this is not yet widely available," the DOH said in a statement on Friday, May 27.
"The DOH is exploring all possible available sources and expedient legal methods for the procurement of monkeypox vaccines," it added.
However, the DOH noted that possible monkeypox vaccination is still subject to review by the health experts.
“As part of the mandate of DOH to provide safety through the delivery of public health services, consultations and review must be done with expert societies and development partners in terms of vaccination, and priority population groups,” it said.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Edsel Salvana recently assured the public that the Philippines can access vaccines for monkeypox since it has “linkages” in the different international agencies.
To date, there is no reported case of monkeypox in the country.
At present, the state health agency said it is also preparing other “supply chains and logistics services.”
“There are ongoing internal discussions, based on scientific evidence, for the possible acquisition of antivirals in the event of an outbreak or severe cases,” it said.
The DOH is also coordinating with the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and Philippine Genome Center on the "laboratory requirements needed for monitoring and surveillance of monkeypox through RT-PCR."