Iloilo City buys 3,700 vials of 6-in-1 vaccine
Following the declaration of a state of calamity due to pertussis, the city has procured 3,700 vials of 6-in-1 vaccine to be used in its outbreak response immunization (ORI) program.
The Iloilo City Health Office (ICHO) disclosed that the hexavalent vaccines the city has bought are intended for protection against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, haemophilus influenza B and hepatitis B.
The ICHO said the decision to procure hexavalent vaccines was prompted by a shortage of pentavalent vaccine doses.
The Department of Health (DoH) has recently said that the vaccines against pertussis are “enough” but hinted at a possible shortage by May if the outbreak is not contained.
The 3,700 vials will be administered to children ages 0 to 59 months, the ICHO said.
“I cannot mention the brand, but it is quite expensive. We have the funds, but the scarcity of vaccines, which is a global issue, limits our procurement options,” said Dr. Jennifer Anceno, ICHO National Immunization Program coordinator, during a press conference on Thursday, April 11.
The ICHO said that it needs a total of 30,836 vials to immunize 100 percent of the children ages 0 to 59 months under the ORI.
Data from the ICHO revealed that from March 25 to April 2, a total of 1,204 children were vaccinated under the ORI. This included 634 children ages 24 to 59 months, 418 ages 0 to 12 months, and 152 ages 13 to 23 months.
Due to the low supply of vaccine doses available, Anceno said they prioritized inoculating children from areas with confirmed pertussis cases.
“We are implementing selective immunization. We are focusing on areas with confirmed cases,” she said.
The ICHO said there have been nine confirmed cases of pertussis in the districts of Arevalo, Jaro, Mandurriao, and Molo.
The ORI was initiated as part of the city government’s strategy following the state of calamity declaration on March 26, 2024.
With the state of calamity declaration, P14 million has been allocated to medicine and biologicals from the P16.9 million earmarked to manage the outbreak.