MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday started the vaccination of frontline health workers against the A(H1N1) virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently donated 1.9 million doses of vaccine to the Philippines. The organization has pledged nine million doses as part of its commitment to help developing countries fight the deadly virus.
Some 420,000 frontline health workers will be
vaccinated, including doctors, nurses, nursing aides and baranggay health workers.
“Hopefully we shall have vaccinated all the health workers by next week to protect them against A(H1N1),” said Dr. Lyndon Leesuy, DOH program manager for Emerging and Re-emerging Diseases.
The second priority group is the estimated 2.5 million pregnant women in the country who are highly vulnerable to the virus.
Leesuy said despite the dwindling public attention on the spread of A(H1N1), the virus remains a threat to public health, especially when the rainy season arrives.
“There’s no report of clustering (of cases) but, of course, it does not mean that the threat of a second wave is no longer there. We should always be on guard,” Leesuy said.