DOH expecting shortage on pertussis vaccines

MANILA, Philippines — A shortage of pertussis or whooping cough vaccines is expected next month and an order for additional doses will be placed, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

“We have enough (vaccines), but we will have a shortage sometime in May. This is a gap we are addressing now, that is why we plan to order the old vaccines,” Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said yesterday.

Herbosa is referring to the DPT vaccine that gives children protection against diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus.

“When you order the vaccine, that’s only the time that they (pharmaceutical company) will manufacture it and you also have to consider the lag time,” he noted.

Early this year, the DOH placed an order for pertussis vaccines but it would take around four months before its arrival, he added.

“It will take some 120 days, meaning its arrival will be in June and our supply is about to run out. It will now be difficult to advise parents to immediately bring their children for vaccination if there are only a few vaccines left,” Herbosa said.

About 890 pertussis cases have been recorded from January to March this year, he noted.

“The previous year, we had less than 80 cases,” he said.

Deaths

With 49 pertussis-related deaths, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian urged local government units to assist the DOH in rolling out catch-up vaccinations.

As of March 23, the DOH recorded 862 pertussis cases, including 49 deaths since the start of the year.

The cases recorded in the past three months are 30 percent higher than cases during the same period a year ago.

Children aged below five accounted for 79 percent of the total cases.

About 66 percent of these children were either unvaccinated or did not know their vaccination history.

The DOH earlier announced that three million pentavalent vaccine doses would soon arrive in the country.

The Philippines has 64,400 available pentavalent vaccine doses at the moment.

Pentavalent vaccines offer protection against pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenza type B.

Due to lockdowns imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, children were not brought to health centers for routine immunization, Health Undersecretary Eric Tayag said earlier.?According to the DOH National Immunization Program, only 72 percent – below the 90 percent target – of more than two million children aged one year and below are fully immunized.

Pertussis is an acute respiratory infection caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis, the DOH said.

The infection poses a significant threat among infants and young children who are at risk of severe symptoms and life-threatening complications.

While teens and adults may experience milder symptoms, there is a risk of severe illness, especially for those with pre-existing health conditions and the unvaccinated elderly population.

“Despite the continued increase in pertussis cases, it is important that we intensify vaccination to provide protection to our countrymen, especially children who are at a higher risk of contracting the disease,” Gatchalian said.

The senator had filed Senate Bill 941 or the Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines Act of 2022, which sought to establish a premier research and development institute in the field of virology, encompassing all areas in viruses and viral diseases in plants, animals and humans. — Cecille Suerte Felipe