Rights lawyer blames PAO chief for vaccination scare | Inquirer News

Rights lawyer blames PAO chief for vaccination scare

/ 09:17 PM February 07, 2019

MANILA, Philippines – Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno said on Thursday that Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) chief Persida Acosta and other people who supposedly contributed to the vaccination scare and the measles outbreak  in some parts of the country should be held accountable.

“Persida Acosta and the others who are riding on the Dengvaxia issue should step down from their high chairs and accept responsibility for destroying public confidence in vaccination,” Diokno said in a message to INQUIRER.net.

“Malinaw na ang outbreak ng measles o tigdas sa Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, NCR, at Bicol Region ay direktang resulta ng patuloy na pananakot ng ilan sa pamahalaan pagdating sa pagbabakuna [….] Dapat may managot sa trahedyang ito na maaari naman pala nating maiwasan,” he explained.

Article continues after this advertisement

(It is clear that the measles outbreak in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, NCR and Bicol Region is a direct result of scare tactics on vaccination employed by some people in government.  Someone should be held liable for this tragedy.)

FEATURED STORIES

“After making so much noise and causing so much hysteria, they cannot just wash their hands and say they had nothing to do with the drastic drop in vaccination confidence from 93% to a measly 32%, measles rise by 350 percent and rubella by over 1000 percent,” Diokno explained.

On Wednesday, the Department of Health (DOH) declared a measles outbreak in Metro Manila, after 196 cases were reported from January 1 to 19, of this year.

Article continues after this advertisement

The outbreak declaration was expanded to other regions in Luzon and Central Visayas.

Article continues after this advertisement

At least 55 children have already died, according to previous reports.

Article continues after this advertisement

In comparison, only 20 cases in Metro Manila were reported in the same period last year.

DOH has attributed the spike in measles cases to low vaccination rate. /gsg

Article continues after this advertisement

READ: Measles outbreak in Metro Manila — DOH

READ: DOH raises measles ‘red flag’ in more regions after NCR outbreak

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

READ:Dengvaxia scare a factor in measles outbreak—DOH

TAGS: Chel Diokno, Dengvaxia, PAO

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.