Adult vaccination program ongoing at fertility center

Adults just like infants can now be vaccinated against common diseases. Vaccines against colds, whooping cough, flu and chickenpox can be made available to adults at the Cebu Women's Health and Fertility Center, the first ever to introduce the Adult Vaccination Program of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

Adults, according to GSK district head for Visayas and Mindanao Zeena Abellanosa, need to be protected so as not to affect the family members, income and productivity as well as the community.

The Fertility Center, composed mostly of gynecologists, aims at the prevention of the infection right before conception or during pregnancy. Dr. Virginia Abalos, president of the fertility center, said that one of the communicable diseases that they are focusing at is hepatitis B, which can be transmitted just like the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

Also called as a "silent infection" as it lacks overt symptoms but only common fever, fatigue, muscle and joint pains which can be interpreted as common illness, the person inflicted with hepa B may not know he has the disease and could unknowingly pass it on to others. - Ferliza C. Contratista