By LITO RULONA
Correspondent .
The city’s health office have been experiencing a shortage of antiabies vaccine due to a high incidence of dog bites this year
This, as the City Council Committee on Health and Sanitation chaired by City Councilor Maria Lourdes Gaane opted to buy locally produced antiabies vaccine.
Gaane said antiabies vaccine stock purchased by the city government would only last until the end of this month.
“This is very alarming. Not only for antiabies vaccine for dogs but also for human. Naa pa’y local distributor sa Manila pero gahulat kita og memorandum from the Department of Health nga ato kini nga magamit,” she said.
She said the vaccines were given to the public for free.
“Dili raba kini sila mga single dose ilabi na gayud kadtong para sa human. For every schedule kaduha sila tupokan sa ilangm mga bokton left and right. Karon we opted nga maghatag lamang kami sa first dose nga free but on the second dose they will be the one to purchase their own,” she pointed out.
Gaane said money is not the problem since the city has the funds to buy.
In a meeting this week, Dr. Fe Bongcas of the City Health Office informed the committee that the shortage of antiabies vaccine is not only a problem in the city but also in other cities and countries.
The global shortage of vaccines is due to the contamination of the products in the laboratory, which resulted in a stoppage in the production of the vaccines, she explained.
According to Bongcas, only two kinds of vaccines are allowed by the Department of Health, Verorab, which is good for two persons per vial and the Chick Embryo, for five persons.
The City Health Office opted to use the Chick Embryo since it is more economical and caters to five patients, said Bongcas.
She said the Verorab vaccine is out of stock due to the increase in demand.
Gaane said she plans to write to the DOH to allow the city government to purchase the vaccines from local medicine suppliers.
She said CHO office has submitted a report before the committee level citing an increase in dog bite cases every day.
City Health Office has intensified the campaign for responsible pet ownership.
The City Health Office is urging barangay officials and workers to be responsible and to impound stray dogs.
Gaane is encouraging the public to have their dogs vaccinated to avoid the danger of getting infections from dog bites. (with reports from cli)
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