Filipinos remain hesitant on pertussis vaccine amid increasing cases
by Lian Gabrielle Inlong
As of April 27, the Department of Health (DOH) has reported an increase of 2,149 active cases of pertussis or whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory infection, in various parts of the country, advising parents to get their infants immunized. However, Filipinos remain hesitant to take the vaccine amid the continuing rise in the number of pertussis cases.
Although the DOH is still awaiting the effects of the vaccine and the country has yet to see a downward trend in the cases, the agency continues to push forward the vaccination campaign.
Assistant Health Secretary Albert Domingo pointed to the COVID-19 lockdown as the cause of why many infants in the country remain unvaccinated. He assured the public that pertussis is being monitored considering it is a disease preventable by a vaccine.
However, former House Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin blamed DOH and Rodrigo Duterte’s administration for failing to address vaccine hesitancy in the country. She believed it is the root cause of not only the pertussis outbreak but also the rise of cases of other diseases in the country such as polio.
Garin slammed former health secretaries Francisco Duque III and Paulyn Ubial for not combating the fake news surrounding vaccines, especially Dengvaxia, during their terms. She argued that misinformation surrounding Dengvaxia affected people’s receptiveness to other vaccines.
Parents are especially wary of such vaccines as children are often the ones receiving them. In a study conducted in urban communities of the Philippines, it was found that the main reasons for vaccine hesitancy include exposure to negative media information, specifically the Dengvaxia scare, and concerns about the safety of vaccines.
The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and DOH have yet to address the issue of vaccination hesitancy in the country. It could be noted that the Duterte’s administration did not issue concrete stances on the lifting and banning of Dengvaxia as Duterte was “in a quandary.”
As of writing, there are no any comments from the Marcos Jr.’s administration.
DOH is expecting the arrival of pentavalent vaccines in July and is continuing to utilize the three million trivalent vaccines procured for the months of May and June. Trivalent vaccines are aimed to be used for DPT-diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus which are commonly administered to infants.
Pertussis, often characterized by hacking coughs, is not a new disease in the Philippines. Although the number of cases in 2024 has become alarming, a number of cases have also been reported in previous years from 2019. Its contagiousness may be attributed to its influenza-like symptoms such as fever, cough, and cold, which could easily be a way to transmit droplets of the said bacterial infection.
