LINGAYEN, Pangasinan — A nine-year-old girl from Caloocan who was administered with the Dengvaxia vaccine already checked out from the hospital where she was rushed by parents when she suffered fever while vacationing in Pangasinan.
Dr. Ana Ma. Teresa de Guzman, Pangasinan health officer, confirmed on Tuesday that the child is now well and in fact was already brought home by parents to Caloocan City.
She clarified that fever, cough, as well as colds are not among the side effects of the Dengvaxia vaccine.
She, however, appealed to parents that if their children who were administered with Dengvaxia get sick, they should bring them to the nearest hospital for observation and treatment.
The provincial health officer said that all hospitals in Pangasinan were advised to admit children vaccinated with Dengvaxia to ensure that they are given the necessary medical assistance.
Previous to this, there were 16 children from Mangatarem, Pangasinan found to have been administered with Dengvaxia and they are now being monitored regularly by the Municipal Health Office (MHO).
So far, the children are living normal lives and have not shown any adverse side effect of the vaccine.
Six of these children were given the anti-dengue vaccine by private clinics while the 10 others, through the school-based immunization program in San Clemente, Tarlac.
Tarlac is part of Region 3, one of the three pilot regions for the Dengvaxia vaccine. The other two are National Capital Region (NCR) and Region 4-A.
Pangasinan is in Region 1, which was not a pilot area for the vaccine, yet some children of the province, particularly those living in the border areas were among those administered with the vaccine.
The PHO is continuously tracing other children given the Dengvaxia who may have been going to school in adjacent Zambales, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija close to the borders of Pangasinan. (Ahicam Pasion/PNA)
