Outgoing POGS president Dr. Susan Pelea-Nagtalon said the protocol is a product of a 10-month study conducted by the society’s task force on immunization for women, which aims to revolutionize health care services for women.
"We want to increase awareness on the promotion of disease prevention. Women, in various stages of their life, are exposed to several diseases that are preventable," she said in yesterday’s launching ceremony.
The guidelines indicate vaccines and vaccine types for certain diseases that may affect women from 18 to over 50 years old, including pregnant and breastfeeding women.
The protocol also includes the recommended route and schedule of vaccination, as well as each vaccine’s precautions and contraindications.
POGS recommends that women aged 18 to 50 years be vaccinated against tetanus and diphtheria; hepatitis B; measles, mumps and rubella; varicella; pneumococcal diseases; and influenza. Immunization against hepatitis A and meningococcal illnesses is optional.
Women above 50 years old are advised to have themselves vaccinated against pneumococcal diseases; influenza; tetanus and diphtheria, and hepatitis B. They could also choose to be vaccinated against varicella; measles, mumps and rubella; hepatitis A and meningococcal illnesses although these are optional.
Pregnant women, on the other hand, can have themselves vaccinated against influenza, tetanus and diphtheria.
Former senator Loren Legarda, who was the keynote speaker at the launch, underscored the need to protect women’s health because most women not only take care of their family but have also assumed the roles of provider and protector.
Incoming POGS president Dr. Rogelio Mendoza said it would not be easy to fully implement the immunization protocol due to the lack of funds, but they hope that the program would take off by 2015.
He said POGS will educate its more than 3,000 members so they could implement the guidelines.
Dr. Christina Padolina, a member of the POGS task force and director of the Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center, said POGS will coordinate with the Department of Health so the protocol could be included in the government’s expanded immunization program.
She added that POGS members in Congress will also initiate legislation so that the guidelines can be formally integrated into the country’s health care system.