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DOH actively seeks more pertussis vaccine to address shortage in May — Herbosa
DOH actively seeks more pertussis vaccine to address shortage in May — Herbosa
Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Ted Herbosa on Wednesday, April 10 said the government is making every effort to obtain an adequate supply of pertussis vaccine to address the gap once available vaccine supply is exhausted by May.
The DOH has ordered 4 million doses of the pentavalent vaccine, but it may take 120 days for it to arrive, possibly in July, Herbosa said during the "Kapihan sa Manila Bay" forum.
In order to fill the shortage in vaccine supply, the DOH chief said the department has placed an order with the Serum Institute of India for 3 million doses of the DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) vaccine.
The DOH used the DTP vaccine until 2015 before transitioning to the pentavalent or 5-in-1 vaccine, which includes protection against Hepatitis B and Hemophilus influenza type B in addition to DTP.
“I hope I can get these earlier than 120 days. We’re doing everything we can to address the gap,” he said.
Herbosa added that the certificate of product registration from the Food and Drug Administration will be processed immediately to allow children to begin receiving DPT vaccines.
In an effort to stop the spread of pertussis, DOH plans to vaccinate children six months to five years old.
The agency has noted that 49 children have already lost their lives to the disease since the year began.
“Pertussis is a vaccine-preventable illness. Deaths are preventable. That’s what I want to emphasize to the parents,” Herbosa said.
Pertussis is a respiratory disease that spreads from person to person through coughing or sneezing.
The DOH said pertussis coughs have a distinctive "whoop," or high pitched sound, that sets them apart from coughs associated with other illnesses.
Similar sounds can also be heard in bronchial asthma, but only during attacks and frequently without fever or other symptoms, it said.
The illness begins with a mild cough and colds that last up to two weeks, followed by paroxysms or fits of coughing that can last up to six weeks.
The DOH said antibiotics are available and effective against pertussis.