The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday said it is doing quick procurement of 5-in-1 vaccines for pertussis or whooping cough following reported cases in Quezon City, Calabarzon and the Visayas region.

“Maliban sa mababang vaccine coverage nagkaroon po kami rin ng problema sa supply ng 5-in-1 vaccine kaya nga maraming lugar ang maaaring halos said na po iyong kanilang suplay ng 5-in-1 vaccine,” Department of Health spokesperson Undersecretary Eric Tayag, said in a news forum in Quezon City.

“Kaya nga ang Kagawaran ng Kalusugan ay bumibili nang mabilis para nang sa ganoon ay maipamahagi na kaagad ang mga suplay na ito na kailangan po,” he said.

Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection marked by a severe hacking cough followed by a high-pitched intake of breath that sounds like “whoop.”

The good things about the current situation is that there are available antibiotics that could be administered to patients with appropriate doctor’s prescription, Tayag said, advising the new doctors to be wary of pertussis symptoms that they may encounter on patients rushing to hospitals.

To address low vaccine coverage, Tayag said the DOH is hoping that mothers will get the right information on the importance of immunization, particularly against pertussis, which has been affecting infants.

According to Tayag, there is a current outbreak not only of pertussis, because of the drop in vaccination rate particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated by the Dengvaxia controversy that created fears among mothers to immunize their children.

The DOH official said before the Dengvaxia issue, the vaccination coverage was between 75 to 85 percent, dropping to 60 to 65 percent after the controversy.

As of March 9, Tayag said there were 453 reported pertussis cases in the country, with 35 deaths.

Out of the 453 patients who underwent laboratory testing, there were 167 confirmed pertussis or tuspirina cases.

Most of the cases are in Metro Manila followed by Calabarzon and Central Visayas, the health official said. Presidential News Desk