STATISTICAL figures on measles cases in any part of the world have always been dynamic, but the recent spike in the Philippine scene is caused by something rather obscene.
To recall, the Department of Health in 2016 had the brighter picture of finally winning the war—all it needed then was to sustain the .73 percent per million of the population. Its elimination goal was pegged at one case per million population. The intensive efforts were informed by the outbreaks in 2010, 2011 and 2013.
The fight took place in the forefront of the DOH’s vaccination programs. The World Health Organization in 2015 recorded an immunization rate of 93 percent in the Philippines, and thus resulting in a radical drop in the number of measles cases.
So what could have tipped the figures—the cases have spiraled to a dizzying 3,646 cases in 2018, and already a recorded hike of 550 percent compared to records in the first quarter of last year? The health agency is in the process of verifying the 55 deaths allegedly from measles. The San Lazaro Hospital in Manila admitted 1,504 patients for measles; 1,355 were children and teenagers.
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier criticized the Public Attorney’s Office headed by Persida Acosta for linking the deaths of several children to the Dengvaxia anti-dengue vaccine last year. Acosta’s rather impassioned show to rally the cause of families whose children supposedly died from the vaccine had caused a ripple effect on the government’s vaccination program. More blows came from House hearings where politicians lorded over doctors on matters that only the expertise of the latter can fully comprehend. It became perfect occasion for political gain, and many grabbed it.
Duque said Acosta’s remarks have caused “serious damage” to the Filipinos’ vaccine confidence, which according to WHO records dropped to 32 percent in 2018. What may be true to one kind of vaccine isn’t necessarily true with the others, the DOH said. But the scare cut across the entire vaccination program of the government.
With the measles outbreak, there is blood and mucus in the hands of those who have caused unnecessary, harmful spectacle from the Dengvaxia issue. The politicking did the DOH programs more harm than good.