Philippines working to get smallpox jabs for monkeypox vaccination
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health said Monday it is coordinating with the World Health Organization and other development organizations in securing supplies of smallpox vaccine that can protect people from getting monkeypox.
Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, officer-in-charge of the DOH, said the US Food and Drug Administration authorized a smallpox vaccine for use against monkeypox. According to the WHO, vaccination against smallpox was demonstrated to be about 85% effective in preventing monkeypox.
“Ang ating issue ngayon or challenge ay kakaunti po, limitado ang supplies ng monkeypox vaccine na ito kaya po tayo’y nakikipag-usap ngayon sa mga development partners natin tulad ng WHO at iba pa para kung saka-sakaling matulungan nila tayo to access or kaya madonate-an tayo,” she said in an interview with ABS-CBN TeleRadyo.
(Our current issue or challenge is few, the supplies of monkeypox vaccine are limited. That’s why we are talking to our development partners such as the WHO and others to access there or donate vaccines to us.)
Vergeire said that in the event the country fails to get vaccine supplies as soon as possible, the public should continue practicing health protocols to prevent COVID-19 spread.
“What we’re doing now for COVID-19 preventive measures also applies to monkeypox,” she explained.
The WHO declared Saturday the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency, having affected nearly 17,000 people in 74 countries.
According to the health department, it has already prepared a response mechanism for the monkeypox virus. The Philippines has yet to report even a suspected monkeypox case in the country.
Monkeypox, which was first discovered in a monkey, is far less severe than the related deadly smallpox virus.
The department said it also convened the Philippine Inter-agency Committee on Zoonosis, which include the DOH, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, along with their respective agencies.
The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine prepared its Real Time PCR assay, which will be used to detect monkeypox, last June 20. — Gaea Katreena Cabico with report from Kaycee Valmonte and Agence France-Presse
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