MANILA --An official of the Department of Health (DOH) has directed health personnel to take a pro-active approach and reach out to every barangay in Region 4-A or Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), ensuring that residents will be given proper information on the importance of vaccination in disease prevention.
Calabarzon Regional Director Eduardo Janairo said the move is to allay the growing fears and apprehension among parents caused by the Dengvaxia controversy in past months.
"I started to give instruction to my staff to drop everything. (I told them) You have to organize yourselves into five groups with two lecturers and go to barangays," Janairo in an interview on Wednesday at the Stakeholder's Forum on Service Delivery Network in Quezon City.
Janairo said that the house-to-house approach is effective in disseminating the accurate information to the people who may have doubts on what they heard and read on the news about the Dengvaxia vaccine.
He said this way, people's mindset about vaccines and immunization per se will be cleared and a step forward in bringing back their trust in the DOH health programs, which is geared toward prevention of diseases.
"So, once the confidence was lost, you have to go there and explain (to regain them). If there will be an expert doctor who will talk and explain that can help a lot," Janairo added.
Last April 8, Janairo said the DOH Calabarzon personnel conducted a dialogue with parents of those children who received Dengvaxia vaccine in Imus, Cavite.
Health personnel told parents and guardians what the DOH is doing in terms of monitoring and in finding ways to continuously provide the multivitamins provided by the agency to the recipients.
Janairo said they are ensuring that all public and private hospitals in the region will be following the DOH guidelines like putting a Dengvaxia fast lane, treatment of patients, provision of PhilHealth coverage, and in cases, referral for services in coordination with other government agencies.
He also noted that Department of Social Welfare and Development will provide burial assistance to the family of vaccinees who have died as a result of being vaccinated with Dengvaxia.
DSWD can also be tapped to provide psycho-social assistance to help in alleviating the emotional trauma of the parents of the vaccinees. (PNA)
