Dr. Herminigilda Salanged, chief of the non-communicable section of DOH Region 1, urged parents not to mistrust health professionals who are there to help prevent diseases and also not to self-medicate to cure and prevent diseases in their homes.
Saying that self-medication is not being encouraged, she assured the public during the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP) forum here on Thursday that they will be fully informed of the result of the investigation by experts over the Dengvaxia vaccine, whether positive or negative, once it is completed.
Dr. Salanged underscored the need for hardcore evidence before the public can draw their conclusions over the Dengvaxia vaccine.
She noted of reports that parents are already reluctant on allowing their children to be administered with other disease-preventing vaccines upon learning that the Dengvaxia given to school children in Region 3, National Capital Region (NCR) and Region 4-A is now shrouded with controversy.
This is bad, she said, because all other vaccines were found effective and in fact succeeded in preventing diseases in children.
“Don’t listen to loose talks. Listen only to health professionals,” said Dr. Salanged, attributing the now negative attitude of parents over other vaccinations to opinions oftentimes published in social media and even in mainstream media that Dengvaxia is harmful despite the absence of any concrete evidence.
She called on media not to publish or air opinions not coming from authoritative sources, especially with the prevalence of fake news in the social media nowadays because they are fomenting mistrust in the government.
Salanged cited the case of smallpox which is no longer being heard of now as it has already been eradicated as a result of the massive vaccination conducted by DOH, through the rural health units throughout the country some years ago.
She appealed to the public not to lose faith in reputable multinational companies from various parts of the globe that are spending millions or even billions of dollars doing researches aimed at finding and manufacturing the best and most effective drugs and medicines to combat diseases and save lives. (Leonardo Micua/PNA)
