Children to get free dengue vaccination

Filipino children will be given free immunisation shot against dengue, Health Secretary Janette Loreto-Garin announced on Tuesday.

Garin said the Department of Health will be implementing a programme in the coming weeks to immunise, initially, more than a million children against the mosquito-borne viral disease that afflict an average of 220 Filipinos a day.

“We are fortunate to be in this era wherein infectious diseases can now be prevented by vaccination,” Garin, who is a physician, said.

Earlier, there were concerns over the cost of vaccine. But the government has mapped out a programme to fund the immunisation activities using proceeds from taxes on alcohol and tobacco products, according to the health secretary.

The Philippines became the first Asian country to approve a vaccine for dengue on December 22. Mexico was the first country to approve the vaccine against dengue, Dengvaxia, on December 2 last year.

“Susceptible poor children in regions with high incidence of dengue will be the first beneficiaries of the government-procured dengue vaccine,” she added.

The Philippines was among several countries that took part in a 20-yeartrial to come up with a vaccine against dengue, a disease that often afflict people in the tropics.

Dengue, which has four strains, is a disease that cost the lives of hundreds of Filipinos every year. From January to October 2015, at least 300 deaths from the disease were reported in the country from the viral disease.

Over the same period, more than 108,000 cases across the country were reported with ages of the patients ranging from 5 to 14 years.