Health Secretary Francisco Duque III
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
The Department of Health (DOH) has reached out to help 27 schoolchildren from Central Luzon who were given the controversial antidengue vaccine, Dengvaxia.
In a statement, the DOH said its personnel helped provide ambulances to transport the children, facilitated tests and hospitalization and gave the children and their parents counseling.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said parents should immediately consult a doctor as soon as they notice signs and symptoms of dengue in their children, like fever, rashes and body pains.
“We are very concerned about addressing the health needs of the vaccinated children and ensuring that they get immediate and quality care and management,” Duque said.
“With early management we can improve the outcome of severe dengue,” he said.
The 27 children who received Dengvaxia were all admitted at Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital in Pampanga province.
The children — mostly Pampanga residents — complained of loose watery stool, fever, vomiting, cough and colds, rashes and body pain prior to confinement.
Of the 27 children, aged 11 to 16 years old, 13 were males and 14 were females. Three were still confined while 24 had been discharged from the hospital.
The DOH said all of the children had fever upon admission to the hospital.
Dr. Monserrat Chichioco, chief of Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital, said five patients were classified as suffering from severe dengue, while 18 had warning signs of dengue and one did not have any symptoms.
The warning signs of dengue include persistent vomiting, decreasing platelet count, persistent abdominal pain and mild bleeding episodes.