MONKEYPOX JABS | Philippines likely to acquire monkeypox vaccines by next year

MONKEYPOX JABS | Philippines likely to acquire monkeypox vaccines by next year – health department

August 10, 2022 , 09:24 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(August 10, 2022) – The Philippines might only be able to secure supply of monkeypox vaccines by next year due to high demand for the vaccine doses across the globe, the acting head of the health department said on Wednesday.

Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said the Philippines has requested foreign governments and vaccine manufacturers in initial discussions to provide them, for the meantime, at least enough doses for health workers and for those who need to get post-exposure prophylaxis after getting exposed to a monkeypox case.

“These manufacturers are having lots and receiving lots of requests coming from different countries. So tinatarya-tarya rin yan kung sino ang mabibigyan,” Vergeire said.

Last month, The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the multi-country monkeypox outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern. More than 80 countries, including the Philippines, have reported monkeypox cases which reached more than 16,000. A few deaths were also reported.

The first and only monkeypox case so far detected in the country was in a 31-year old returning overseas Filipino last week. The patient has since recovered, the health department said.

Vergeire said that discussions with manufacturers on acquiring vaccine doses are not yet final.

“These are all in the works. Nothing is final yet. We are just informing the public that we are doing our best to access these vaccines for monkeypox,” she said.

Earlier, the health department said they have reached out to foreign partners, including the United States government and the World Health Organization (WHO) to request for vaccine supply. They are also in talks with other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states to jointly procure the vaccine doses.

The Philippine government is also discussing with three monkeypox vaccine manufacturers to secure supply, the department said.

The monkeypox virus, which has alarmed authorities across the world after it saw outbreaks outside of its endemic countries in Africa, is contagious through close contact from the time the symptoms appear until the rashes heal. It is typically not contagious while the patient is asymptomatic during the incubation period.

Symptoms of the virus include fever, swollen lymph nodes, and chills, said the the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC). Rashes typically develop by one to four days after the flu-like symptoms.

(MM | With reports from JC Cosico, News 5)

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