The Department of Health (DOH) provided an initial 6,000 vials of the pentavalent vaccines to augment the ongoing pertussis outbreak response immunization of the city government here.

“The vaccines we received came from Region 12, and they (DOH) are still looking for more,” said Iloilo City health officer Annabelle Tang in a media conference on Tuesday.

Tang said they intend to administer the 6,000 doses, which arrived on Monday, in two-and-a-half days, with their staff working even on weekends to reach the target age group.

As of Tuesday, the city has 11 laboratory-confirmed cases, including one death and 23 probable cases.

In addition to DOH-provided pentavalent, the city government also procured PHP13 million worth of hexavalent of 6-in-1 vaccines and diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (TDaP) booster vaccine.

The 1,200 TDaP vaccines are expected to arrive on Friday, while the 3,775 doses of the 6-in-1 vaccines are still waiting for release from the factory, said Tang.

The health office medical staff conducts house-to-house vaccination, but the vaccines are also available in health centers to ensure they would be able to reach out to their target priorities –infants zero to 12 months who are deemed vulnerable, those with incomplete vaccination, and pregnant women in their last trimester.

The outbreak response immunization will cover 12 to 59-month-old children and pregnant mothers.

“As of now, we have administered 21.48 percent for routine and outbreak response. We hope to complete this in two months as long as there is supply. We are going to do this even during weekends,” she said.

In the same conference, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas said a travel moratorium is imposed for city health office personnel directly involved in the outbreak response.

“Travel outside the City of Iloilo for official or personal reasons is prohibited unless expressly authorized by the City Health Officer under exceptional circumstances. This moratorium includes but is not limited to meetings, conferences, conventions, seminars, training, and non-emergency missions,” part of Executive Order No. 55, series of 2024 which he signed on Monday, read.

The city mayor also assured that funds are available to purchase vaccines, although the current challenge is the supply. (PNA)