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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider DOH move to review anti-pneumonia vaccine hailed

DOH move to review anti-pneumonia vaccine hailed

Published Dec 15, 2019 12:00 am
By Ellson Quismorio  Pro-health congressmen have welcomed the Department of Health (DOH)-ordered assessment on pneumococcal conjugate vaccines or PCVs in preparation for a true open and competitive bidding for the crucial drug. MB FILE | MANILA BULLETIN (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) "I'm happy to hear that," House Committee on Health chairman, Quezon 4th district Rep. Angelina Tan said. “I appreciate the move of the DOH to call for a swift 30-day review of the pediatric vaccines for pneumococcal diseases,” added the lady solon, who is a doctor by profession. The month-long assessment will ba carried out by the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC). Last month, Tan called for an open and competitive bidding for PCVs after the first call for tender for anti-pneumonia vaccines involved only one bidder. The Health department has since suspended the bidding. “The assessment must really be finished soon considering the continued threat posed by pneumonia on children,” she said. In an earlier press briefing, Dr. Anna Ong Lim, president of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines, underscored just how dangerous pneumonia has been to Filipino children. “Pneumonia is a very common disease in children. Of the hundreds of countries in the world, the Philippines is included in the top 15 countries in terms of pneumonia deaths, and those 15 countries are responsible for 75 percent of all deaths from pneumonia," Lim said. Pneumonia is the top child killer in the country among kids five years old and below, according to reports.
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