As the country still faces the crisis of “whooping cough" or pertussis, the Department of Health (DOH) pointed out on Monday, April 8, that "vaccine hesitancy" hindered the efforts of dealing with the disease outbreak.

DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, in a Bagong Pilipinas Interview, said the country has a problem with vaccine hesitancy, where parents “delay” or “refuse” to vaccinate their children, leaving them vulnerable to "preventable diseases."

"What is really very important is convincing our mothers. In fact, I realized that it is very important to convince the women because they're the ones that will nurture their children," Herbosa said.

“Kung sila hindi kumbinsido sa bakuna, hindi nila pababakunahan yung mga anak nila, kasi hindi naman nagsasabi ang anak nila na pabakunahan mo ako, (If they (parents) are not convinced about the vaccine, they will not vaccinate their children because their child does not say that you should vaccinate me),” Herbosa explained.

The health secretary noted that even the vaccines for measles, diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (MDPT), which have been around for decades and proven safe, he said “there is still a lot of doubt there,” in the public.

He pointed out that the government had enough vaccines, however, many of these go to waste because parents hesitate to have their children vaccinated.

“Sadly, when I took over as health secretary, we are number four in the world for zero-dose children,” the secretary said.

“They (public) never received even a single vaccine when the government buys enough,” he added.

Consequently, the 95 percent fully immunized children in the country were "not achieved" because there was hesitation, and he stressed that part of it to blame is social media.

The secretary also noted that one of the reasons is that the public is concerned about the vaccine's side effects, which makes them "uncertain."

Secondly, he highlighted that people lack information, especially mothers about these diseases.

"Sometimes we notice that there was vaccine hesitancy during the pandemic, and all we have to do is to overcome it with proper information," Herbosa explained.

That is where he urged the public that it is important to listen to reliable information.

"Don't just look at social media and believe what other people (say)," he said.

The secretary then explained the "pseudoscience" --- where the statements, beliefs, and practices are only "subjective," versus the real science.

Even the department relies on reliable sources of its scientific information only comes from experts at the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States.

Currently, the DOH has reported about 890 plus of pertussis, as young as weeks old up to five.

The WHO has raised concerns about the disease and underscored that it was "sort of neglected."

As a result, the public is encouraged to disseminate the "right word" about health to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to exercise their right to health.

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2024/4/5/who-raises-concerns-over-measles-pertussis