Cebu to extend dengue vaccine distribution

Another possible reason could be that most of those affected by dengue are children eight years old and below. (Photo by Cebu Provincial Government/ Facebook)

CEBU CITY— The Cebu Provincial Health Office (CPHO) will be extending the distribution of dengue vaccines to different municipal health offices in the province due to low turnout of intended recipients.

The CPHO on Saturday said the last day of distribution was on August 20, but since all vaccines have not been administered to its target beneficiaries, they will continue the distribution for one more week.

The parents’ fear of the vaccine’s complications and side effects on the children is cited as reason for the low turnout.

Report claimed that children who received the vaccine’s first dose suffered from skin rashes.

Another possible reason could be that most of those affected by dengue are children eight years old and below, while the vaccines are intended for those who are 9-14 years old,  CPHO added.

The CPHO has again called on the parents to avail of this free vaccination and assured them of its efficacy to combat dengue.

The CPHO said they were unable to fully convince the parents to have their children vaccinated since some recipients did manifest some side effects.

Sought to comment on the reported side effects of the dengue vaccine, Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Paulyn Jean Ubial said: “Right now, we could not make any conclusion with regards to the dengue vaccine because the pilot implementation is not yet over.”

“But there would be instances that patients will have dengue fever after being vaccinated because the dosage is still incomplete,” said Ubial, who was in Cebu on Saturday to spearhead the groundbreaking ceremony of the DOH 7 Regional Office Complex at the South Road Properties.