EDPAM TO CITY HEALTH OFFICERS
Monitor status of 6,040 kids who got anti-dengue shots

ANGELES CITY – Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan has put on alert city health officials over the health of 6,040 pupils in public schools here who had received all three shots of the Dengvaxia vaccine last year.

This, amid reports that two pupils who received anti-dengue vaccines in Bataan had died recently after bouts of severe dengue.

In a press conference at Clark Freeport the other day, however, Department of Health spokesperson Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy said a probe into the deaths indicated that their having been vaccinated was merely “coincidental.”

This, amid reports that at least two pupils at the Lakandula Elementary School in Mabalacat City have been reported to be suffering from suspected severe dengue. They got their third and final anti-dengue vaccinations last August.

Pamintuan instructed city health officer Dr. Lenario Santos here to strictly monitor the status of all pupils who had anti-dengue shots.

He noted a report from the city health offi ce that a total of 6,040 Grade 4 pupils, mostly 9 years old, were given Dengvaxia vaccines.

For his part, Dr. Santos said “we are reaching out to all those who got vaccinated by our national program so as to know their status. We will monitor them regularly.”