Parents need not worry over the new rounds of vaccine campaign

By Shiela Mae Butlig,
Correspondent

Following the controversial deworming incidents across the country, last month, the Department of Health (DOH 10), here, will conduct another nationwide medical mission. This time it’s for the immunization of school-aged children.

However, the public health agency assured that there would be no more hitches, this time.

The school-based immunization or vaccination of school-aged children is a program of the DOH to protect the health of the children. The immunization campaign will run for the whole month of August for all public school children (Grades 1, 4, and 7).

Only this time, the health department considered the doubts of the parents to allow their child to be vaccinated after the alleged use of expired deworming medication which caused a number of children across the country to experience vomiting and nausea and were brought to hospitals.

Karen Yee, DOH 10’s in-charge for the expanded program on immunization, assured that parents need not worry this time because they made sure that the vaccines to be used are not expired. Yee said the vaccines that will be used for the immunization will expire on July 2016.

Before the central office of DOH release the vaccines for Northern Minda-nao, Yee explained, these were first submitted to the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).

“Dilinimuabotsaamo without the approval of BFAD,” said Yee.

However, Jordan Gen Mariscal, DOH 10 Vaccine Preventable Disease Surveillance Officer, said that the children may feel a “little” discomfort after the immunization. To this, Mariscal said that the parents need not worry because this is a normal reaction of the body after immunization.

Mariscaladviced the students, teachers, parents, and guardians to make sure that the children should have a hearty meal before getting their injections.

Among the side effects of the immunization, Mariscal said, are fainting due to fear of injection, sight of blood, or not having eaten prior to the immunization.

Swelling also is a side effect. Fever and rashes are also normal reactions, Mariscal added, since this meant that the vaccines are working.

Yee and Mariscal stressed that the vaccines they will be using have been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Despite the scare brought about by the deworming incident, Yee said that parents should allow their children to be vaccinated to boost the immune system of their children. The vaccines, Yee said, could innoculate their children from measles, German measles, tetanus, and dipththeria, among other contagious diseases.

Yee said that they have been going around provinces and cities in the region to educate parents on the possible side-effects of the vaccinations so as not to repeat the misinformation that happened during the health agency’s national deworming campaign last month.

The health agency’s investigation into the national deworming incidents is still ongoing.

Although, Yee reiterated that there was no fatality recorded in Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro City as a result of the deworming medications.