Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto announced on Tuesday, April 23, the arrival of 20,000 units of pertussis vaccine which the local government procured amid the rise in cases of the highly contagious bacterial disease in the country.
(Photos from Mayor Vico Sotto)
According to Sotto, the city government opted to buy additional vaccines when it first saw the uptick of cases in Metro Manila.
The local government unit (LGU) said 30 mothers and children from Barangays Buting, Kalawaan, and San Joaquin were inoculated with the newly procured Tetanus-Diphteria-Pertussis (Tdap) vaccines.
Sotto said kids and pregnant women are the target beneficiaries of the vaccine.
"Madaling maiiwasan ang pertussis (whooping cough) kapag bakunado. Maaaring tumaas din bigla ang bilang ng kaso dahil sa mas mababang vaccination rates noong pandemya (Pertussis can easily be prevented if vaccinated. The number of cases may also rise due to low vaccination rates during the Covid-19 pandemic)," he explained.
Currently, Tdap vaccinations are set to be administered to the following individuals:
- Women who are 28-36 weeks pregnant (They may proceed to their barangay's health center to receive the vaccine and are reminded to bring their IDs as proof of residency in Pasig)
- Children aged 5-10 yearsold who are living in barangays with identified pertussis cases
"Samantala, patuloy pa rin ang house-to-house Supplemental Immunization Activity at Catch-Up Routine Immunization para sa iba pang mga bakuna na ihahatid sa mga kabataang Pasigueño (On the other hand, the house-to-house Supplemental Immunization Activity and Catch-Up Routine Immunization of other vaccines for the Pasigueño youth are still ongoing)," the city government said.
Pertussis, also known as the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable bacterial disease caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis with initial symptoms usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough. However, these are followed by two or three months of severe coughing fits.
Following a fit of coughing, a high-pitched whoop sound or gasp may occur as the person breathes in. The violent coughing may last for 10 or more weeks, hence the phrase "100-day cough."
Patients infected with the disease may cough so hard that it causes vomiting, rib fractures, and fatigue. Children less than one year old may experience little or no cough at all and instead have periods where they cannot breathe.