ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The City Health Office confirmed that four children have been injected with Dengvaxia vaccine in clinics by pediatricians in private practice in this city.
Dr. Rodelin Agbulos, city health officer, on Tuesday disclosed this was based on the reports of the pediatricians, whom he requested to submit to him list of their patients and medication.
Agbulos said two of the four children are from Barangay Tumaga, one from Sta. Maria and one from San Jose Gusu.
“We are still waiting for the reports from other pediatricians so that the children can be closely monitored. We will furnish copy of the report to the health depart for monitoring,” Agbulo said. There are more than 100 pediatricians in this city.
He said they have advised the parents to immediately seek consultation once their children will have fever or “is not feeling well” for early medical management.
“As of this time, there is no protocol yet from the Department of Health (DOH) on what to do with these children,” he added.
Dengvaxia, manufactured by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, has been granted marketing authorization in 2015 by Mexico making it the first vaccine to be licensed in the world for dengue prevention.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued licenses and approved its used in the country.
The DOH reported that 733,713 children from three regions in Luzon have been vaccinated with Dengvaxia under the agency’s school-based immunization program launched in 2016.
The DOH has suspended the dengue vaccination program after it was reported that Dengvaxia could develop complications to children who has not yet suffered dengue. (PNA)
