A group of health advocates opposed the recent proposals to bring back anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia to the market, enjoining the public to prioritise preventative measures instead of relying on medicinal cure.
“As a matter of policy, we cannot tell patients to buy medical supplies. But at the same time, we cannot provide it to them. We are caught in a bind.”
“Instead of seeking monetary award for damages, given the possible long-term effects of the vaccine, petitioner-children and their mothers pray for the rendition of free and long-term medical services and treatment from the government.”
MANILA — Many parents of children who were vaccinated with Dengvaxia are worried over French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur’s admission that the vaccine could cause “severe” cases of dengue for those who have not been exposed to dengue. Dengue virus is transmitted through mosquito bite. The incubation period of the disease is four to 10…
Have your children examined to know if he or she had previously acquired dengue. If not, seek audience with the Department of Health (DOH) and ask them for the full explanation on the possible adverse effects of the vaccine.”
By MARYA SALAMAT
“Every life is valuable,” Remy Maltu, union president of the San Lazaro Hospital, said, adding that whether less or more are becoming afflicted today by dengue, the patients still need medical services which public hospitals are becoming more and more constrained to provide with cuts in their budgets.
Sidebar: Community health workers criticize government’s inadequate response to dengue
By Bulatlat.com Main Story: Lack of comprehensive solution to periodic dengue outbreaks decried MANILA — “It is normal for dengue cases to rise at this time of the year.” Such is the comment you hear from some of the government’s health officials. The statement is a bitter irony for the community health workers who rallied…
By MARYA SALAMAT
The Department of Health should not merely focus on educating the people about cleanliness, said Dr. Gene Nisperos, vice-president of Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD). The government also has to act decisively on deforestation, urban planning (which includes genuine mass housing and an up-to-par drainage and sewerage system), on top of giving public health subsidies.