PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — Nine recipients of the controversial Dengvaxia anti-dengue vaccine in Palawan have been placed under strict and close monitoring by the Department of Health’s (DOH) office in Mimaropa, ensuring that they would get medical assistance when needed.
The nine Palawan residents vaccinated with the drug — one in Taytay and eight in Puerto Princesa — were recently located by the DOH’s Dengvaxia Task Force, said DOH-Mimaropa Regional Director Eduardo Janairo in a statement released Tuesday.
He said all identified Dengvaxia Vaccine Individuals (DVIs) in the region had been verified and are being monitored for any incidence or occurrence of signs and symptoms that may or may not pertain to the injection of the vaccine.
“They are closely being monitored and are being supported in all of their health-seeking needs 24/7,” Janairo said.
As of March 23, the Regional Epidemiological Surveillance Unit (RESU), in coordination with the provincial health offices, identified a total of 121 DVIs in Mimaropa.
Mimaropa covers the provinces of Occidental and Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan.
Most recipients were from Occidental Mindoro with 58; Oriental Mindoro (34); Marinduque (13); Romblon (7); and Palawan (9) — one from Taytay and eight from Puerto Princesa City.
Six admissions were recorded after the patients experienced headache, fever, colds and vesicular rashes, but were later discharged.
The RESU also reported a decrease of 27 percent in the number of dengue cases in the region with 465 cases recorded between Jan. 1 to March 23, compared to 640 cases during the same period last year.
Janairo said most DVIs received the vaccine from private clinics and hospitals, and government schools in Calabarzon, and in the National Capital Region in 2016.
“One identified DVI was vaccinated in 2012,” he said in the statement.
“We are continuously coordinating, gathering and collecting data from physicians in the provinces, who have administered Dengvaxia to children ages nine years and above, and are ready to provide immediate medical assistance when the need arises,” Janairo added. (Celeste Anna Formoso/PNA)
