Cito Beltran Tells His Dengue Story

I was pleasantly surprised about the thousands of interested people when I posted my first article about dengue and I want to tell you there's been a lot talk about it in the recent weeks. I wouldn't blame you because I know there are a lot of people who are still trying to understand how the vaccine works, yes people there is a vaccine and all you have got to do is to go to your doctors or avail the ones that are being offered via the national immunization program as it is already part of it. I am so glad I haven't been a victim yet but for those who have, I know because I've seen a bunch of my friends and family go through the ardious task of getting hospitalized, spend a fortune just so they could live. Yes, people can die from Dengue and if you haven't been vaccinated yet, you better read up on real life experiences like this one from veteran journalist and edito Cito Beltran. You may click here for more about his story: (URL: http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2016/12/05/1650415/just-asking-sincerely).

I'm sorry for those who haven't taken thid seriously because as you can see, his is a real ordeal. They haven't even recovered yet so if I were you I would think about getting you, your family and community involved with our fight against Dengue.

KUMAGCOW

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The Wall Against Dengue

The Philippines is the first country to include have the Dengue Vaccine in the National Immunization Program. When they introduced it this April, there was not enough awareness that there is actually a vaccine that could prevent the harmful effects of it. The government agencies now realize that it is important to have a massive information campaign before and while it is being rolled out so people won't get confused about it.

Three celebrities, Maricel Pangilinan, Tintin Bersola and Paolo Abrera talked about their own experiences about Dengue and how it affected their own kids and families. In a nutshell, they implied this is a choice and has been studied for over 20 years. It has been a breakthrough and if you want your kids to stay safe from 4 strains of dengue, you also have to study a little so you could make an informed decision. Sanofi Pasteur has made this vaccine and the government is already rolling this out to grade 5 students for free across the country. They advise to still talk to your pediatrician about it because if you want your kids to be safe from dengue, it would be best to get it now while you're still safe. 

You may join making the wall against dengue, be protected today!

KUMAGCOW

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Dengue Vaccine Worries in the Philippines Answered By Sanofi Pasteur

Sanofi Pasteur just held a press conference in Dusit Thani Manila discussing Dengue in the Philippines and the WHO recommendation of the vaccine. 

Dr. Joshue Nealon (Head of Epidemiology for Asia Pacific) says "Nearly 150,000 cases happen in the Philippines every year and there are 4 types affect people from ages 5 to 20, there's a lot of dengue here and it's under reported. In a study, there are 3 Million cases in the Philippines every year. There are economic impacts for this, about 8.9 Billion dollars each year. A WHO recommendation has already been published in July, and the country qualified for public administration of the dengue vaccine."

Dr. Alain Bouckenooghe (Sanofi Global Head of Research and Development) "We've been working with experts in Asia, and internally have ones in our company that worked on this for 22 years, and we have large improvements making a vaccine against 4 dengue virus serotypes. We passed all 25 clinical studies in 15 countries and completed 20 (ongoing 5) and did it with 40,000 subjects in clinical studies. The Philippines has already been part of this data since day 1. Clinical efficacy studies mean trials in real patients in the region. Reduction in symptomatic, hospitalized dengue and severe ones have all showed improvements. This is unprecedented and this is safe as water. Hospitalization for dengue in a study of 4 years have gone down and has never met with an increase higher than those who did not take the vaccine. The vaccine is produced in France and the capacity is 100 Million per year, in state of the art facilities. The vaccine has a three dose schedule, 0,6,12 months apart. The Philippines has hotspots and this is a battle against illness so anything that you can do to help should be a priority.." 

There are a lot of Filipinos that would benefit from this and if you think about it, the data shows a huge amount of non hospitalization after getting the vaccine. They are also thoroughly doing studies and the risk benefits are overly positive. It's not their responsibility to recommend but they have the data so the government can make their own decisions. It's a primary concern and there are clearly thousands of us getting it, a lot will benefit and we need responsible people to disseminate information what we need to understand from it. There's a lot of fear in vaccines and we just have to stay away from paranoia. It's all easier said than done, but we all have to start somewhere. 

KUMAGCOW

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