DOH-3 boosts measures on Dengvaxia recipients

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO - The Department of Health Region III (DOH-3) continues to intensify its measures to monitor individuals immunized with the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine.

DOH-3 Regional Director Leonita Gorgolon said that the agency is partnering with different private hospitals in the region which will augment in the overseeing of recipients of the vaccine, particularly school children.

She stressed that the agency will be engaging private facilities to be part of the referral system under the Enhanced Dengue Response System.

“Currently, we have received 40 letters of intent from various private facilities and hospitals for them to be part of our dengue monitoring initiatives,” Gorgolon said.

She added that a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the department and private hospitals is being finalized to require partner-facilities to log in the name of patients who were among those given the first dose of the vaccine, whether they are admitted or needing only observation.

“We are also looking into the possibility of downloading some amount to these private facilities as support to intensify our services for our vaccines and at the same time to ensure parents that services will be provided whether their children are brought to public or government facilities,” she added.

Gorgolon furthered that in as much as they want to utilize government hospitals for these cases, there are circumstances wherein the patient cannot be accommodated anymore in government facilities, for reasons like distance of the facility and severity of cases.

Aside from the 40 private hospitals which will become DOH-affiliated once the MOA is finalized, there are also 66 government hospitals and 281 rural health units across the region capable of testing for dengue serotype and providing treatment.

However, whether admitted in public or in private facilities, DOH reminded that proper reporting of dengue cases or any other adverse effects following immunization should be collected and forwarded to them by the hospitals.

A total of 205,085 schoolchildren were given the first dose of Dengvaxia in 2016.

Even though only 0.2 percent or 400 children are at risk of having severe dengue in the future, the DOH assures monitoring of all these children in the next five years.