MANILA, Philippines — Once available, the vaccine for monkeypox will only be given to close contacts of those infected with the virus, Department of Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Friday.
Vergeire is referring to the method better known as “ring vaccination,” which is done by vaccinating patients most likely to contract the virus from the infected.
Vergeire said this is unlike the COVID-19 situation, where most of the population needs to have the vaccine.
“Hindi ho tayo kapareho ng COVID-19 na babakunahan ang buong populasyon, ang kailangan nating pangunahing bakunahan, ang ating high priority would be those close contacts,” Vergeire said in a press briefing.
(This is unlike COVID-19, where a huge part of the population will be vaccinated, our high priority would be those close contacts.)
“So, gagawa tayo ng ring vaccination na kung saan kapag nagkaroon ng sakit o infection ang isang tao, kung sino ang close contacts niya, iyon ang unang babakunahan,” she added.
(So, we will make a ring vaccination in which a close contact of an infected person would receive the vaccine first.)
FILE PHOTO: Test tubes labeled “Monkeypox virus positive and negative” are seen in this illustration taken May 23, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Meanwhile, Vergeire said the country is still negotiating with the United States so the country could acquire the monkeypox vaccine.
“This will entail additional costs to the government. But we know it’s going to be cost-effective because this is for public health,” she said.
DOH has reported four confirmed cases of monkeypox in the country.
The first confirmed case has already recovered and been discharged from isolation while the second and third cases are still in home isolation and stable condition, with no new close contacts identified.
The latest confirmed monkeypox patient is currently admitted in an isolation facility but with no history of travel to any areas with a monkeypox outbreak, bringing forth the question as to whether there is already a local transmission of the virus in the country.
The DOH also clarified that all four confirmed monkeypox cases in the Philippines are unrelated.