By Cathrine Mae V. Gonzales
THE Department of Health said it will provide catch-up vaccinations as dengue cases nationwide climbed to 57,026 from January to June this year, a 36-percent leap from the 42,026 cases recorded during the same period in 2015.
So far, there have been 253 deaths.
Department spokesman Eric Tayag said their efforts were being hampered by an insufficient stock of the pentavalent vaccines, which he attributed to “internal procurement failures.”
“This resulted in a lower vaccine coverage compared to what we expected,” Tayag said, noting that their 85-percent target coverage was closer to 65 percent.
“We have to have catch-up vaccinations so we can recover from the low coverage,” he added.
Pentavalent vaccine is a blend of five vaccines which fight diphtheria, whooping cough or pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenza type B, the bacteria that causes meningitis, pneumonia and otitis.
Earlier, the DoH reported that around 400,000 students were given their initial doses of Dengvaxia, but they are still trying to reach 600,000 more to meet their one million target coverage.
Deaths from dengue still rose in 2016, with around 250 dead compared to 150 from the same period last year.
This number alarmed most of local executives, including Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
In Davao City, 19 of about 4,000 dengue patients have already died—11 of them children.
“That the number of deaths could reach this high is disconcerting, and I am appalled because the government is supposed to be doing everything to prevent the breeding of the mosquitoes carrying the virus,” Duterte said in a statement.
The first round of dengue vaccines was given to schoolchildren from April to June aged nine and below from the National Capital Region, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon, regions that recorded almost half of the more than 92,000 cases recorded as of September 2015.
Dengue vaccine is also available commercially but costs P4,000 per dose. Each person needs three doses to complete the process.
Areas that listed the highest cases of dengue are Calabarzon, Southern Luzon, Western and Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Cotabato Region, and Soccsksargen.
In Baguio City, the City Health Services Office said dengue cases in the city increased by over 400 percent from 1,875 cases from January to July, up from only 239 cases in the same period last year.
Dr. Rowena Galpo, city health services officer, said 64 percent or 1,199 cases were residents of the city’s barangays while the rest of the reported dengue cases are from nearby municipalities and provinces. With Dexter See