Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa says on Monday, September 16, that the Philippines can prevent mpox from spreading even without a vaccine. The country has had 18 mpox cases so far in 2024.
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is not rushing to acquire mpox vaccines, echoing other countries as they give way to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said in a briefing on Monday, September 16, that the Philippines has had 18 mpox cases so far in 2024. At least five of these cases have already recovered.
According to the health chief, none of the patients transmitted the virus to their close contacts, despite the 18 getting infected through community transmission.
“Nakikita ninyo, napakadaling i-control ng mpox (As you can see, it’s so easy to control mpox). I don’t need a vaccine to control [it],” Herbosa said.
“With good public health, ‘yung tinatawag nating prevention, detection, isolation — napi-prevent ‘yung pagkalat niya, unlike ‘yung sakit na airborne or like measles or like COVID-19, kailangan mo talagang makuha ‘yung bakuna. In fact, ‘yung bakuna nito, makakatulong lang ito sa mga taong high risk mamatay so ito ay ibibigay ko lang sa taong may HIV or may ibang komplikadong illness,” he added.
(With good public health, which is what we call prevention, detection, isolation — we can prevent its spread, unlike when the infection is airborne or like measles or like COVID-19, where you really need to get the vaccine. In fact, the vaccine for this, it can only be helpful for those who have a high risk of dying from the infection, so I will only give this vaccine to those with HIV or those with other complications.)
Since 2022, there have been a total of 27 mpox cases in the Philippines, with zero deaths.
The Department of Health (DOH) had joined officials of other member states in a World Health Organization (WHO) briefing on mpox on August 23, over a week after a public health emergency was declared.
Under the WHO’s global strategy for vaccination, the priority is DR Congo, which accounts for 90% of mpox cases among the 15 affected African countries. It has over 21,000 suspected mpox cases and 700 deaths reported as of Friday, September 13.
When more vaccine doses become available, the WHO will roll them out to affected communities and those at risk of getting severe diseases, before sending more doses to “all populations,” according to the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization.
The Philippines is in line to receive about 2,500 mpox vaccine doses, which Herbosa is expecting to arrive in the “next few months.”
“Hindi ako masyadong takot. Kahit hindi pa dumating ‘yang bakuna na ‘yan, kayang-kaya natin ma-control ang pagkalat ng mpox (I’m not that scared. Even if those vaccine doses don’t arrive, we can control the spread of mpox),” the DOH chief said.
The department has advised the public to do frequent handwashing, keep skin covered with clothing, and to regularly sanitize surfaces to avoid getting infected with mpox.
‘Contraband or smuggled’ mpox vaccines
The DOH also warned the public against unauthorized vaccinations.
“Pag in-inject sa ‘yo ‘yan at may nangyari, sino ang hahabulin mo? So kaya kailangan rehistrado sila kahit private sector pa ‘yan, dahil ‘pag nagkaroon ng komplikasyon, adverse reaction, o kaya namatay from the vaccination, mahahabol natin ‘yung tinatawag na kumpanya,” Herbosa said.
(When you get injected with that and something happens, who will you go after? So that’s why vaccines need to be registered even if they come from the private sector, because if complications arise, there’s an adverse reaction, or if someone dies from the vaccination, we can go after the company.)
The DOH has received reports that there are some organizations or individuals offering “imported” mpox vaccines.
The country does not have access to any mpox vaccine yet, especially since there is limited global supply. This means that any supposed mpox vaccine in the local market now did not go through the proper regulatory process and testing with the DOH and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and therefore was not cleared for public use.
“The FDA has not approved any mpox vaccine in the Philippines even in the private sector,” Herbosa said. “If there was a vaccine, it illegally arrived here.” – Rappler.com
