Parents vent Dengvaxia ire on Facebook
PARENTS of children inoculated with Dengvaxia took to Facebook to share their fears and sentiments on the controversy and to help each other as government continues to monitor those who got the antidengue vaccine.
As of Wednesday, the closed group named “Samahan ng Magulang ng mga Batang Biktima ng Dengvaxia,” had 23,486 members.
“Ginawa ang page na ito para magkaroon tayo ng access sa isa’t isa, mag tulungan, at para maging aware tayo sa kung ano ang makabu-buti sa ating mga anak na biktima ng Dengvaxia vaccine,” a portion of the group’s About section read.
To be admitted to the group, one
has to answer three questions— maykamag-anakkabangnaba
kunahanng Dengvaxia vaccine? Ilang beses siyang naturukan? May dengue immunization card baang
kamag-anakmo? (Do you have a relative who got Dengvaxia? How many shots did he/she receive? Do they have immunization card?)
One of the group’s members told TheManilaTimes that members of the Facebook group come from different areas and were part of smaller chapters.
“Merontaga- Las Piñas, Bulacan, Baliwag. Meron kaming maliit na group taposdoonkaminag- chat… nalaman namin hinaing ng ibang
magulang (Some come from Las Piñas, Bulacan. We have smaller groups and we chat, we get to know other parents’ sentiments),” Sandra said.
Sandra said her nine-year-old son was given a shot of Dengvaxia in a health center in Las Piñas in December 2017.
When she joined the group, she learned about other parents who were planning to visit the Public Attorney’s Office ( PAO) to seek assistance.
Joy Balbaribo, who hails from Baliwag, Bulacan, was one of those who sought the help of PPAO. “Yung anak ko,naturukan ng
tatlong beses. Una, noong April 2, 2016; taposnoong December 2016, then August 2017 (My son 2, 2016, the second in December 2016 and the third in August 2017),” she told the Times.
Balbaribo shared that her son Maverick had a headache on the The French pharmaceutical in December 2017 that Dengvaxia may be harmful to those who have not been exposed to the dengue virus.
Other Facebook groups related to the Dengvaxia controversy were “Parents/Guardians of Dengvaxia recipients” that had 433 members; “Dengvaxia Track” with 317 members; and “700K Virus-Dengvaxia”
with 276 members, to name a few.
Some open groups showed posts from parents sharing news articles, reactions on the controversial issue, and symptoms of severe dengue to inform each other.
“Hihintayin paba naming mamatay ang mga anak namin? Sinasabi nila hindi ho sa Dengvaxia namamatay eh lahat halos nandoon… sinasabi ho nila pakainin lang ng healthy napagkain. Eh mahihirap lang kami, paano pa namin, ma-aafford lahat ‘yan‘ pag
lumala ang kalagayan nila (Are we going to wait for our children to die? They tell us Dengvaxia does not kill, that we only have to give our children nutritious food. We are poor, how can we afford that especially if they fall ill?” Barbarido said.