DOH: Dermatologists prioritized to receive first batch of vaccines vs mpox

Healthcare workers, specifically dermatologists, are set to receive the first few doses of the vaccine that would help protect against the mpox virus, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday. 

DOH Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo explained that as frontliners who initially check on patients that have skin conditions which may be infectious, dermatologists should be given priority in getting the mpox jabs once they arrive in the Philippines. 

“Nakikita namin this early na ang uunahin is ‘yung mga frontliners at ‘pag sinabing frontliners, ang pinag-uusapan natin ay ‘yung mga dermatologists,” he said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(We can see this early that the priority will be the frontliners and when we say frontliners, we are talking about the dermatologists.) 

“When that time comes at meron na tayong makukuhang mpox vaccine, ang unang bibigyan natin is ‘yung mga humaharap sa pasyente na may mpox kasi hindi sila puwedeng mahawa dahil sila ‘yung unang panangga natin,” he added. 

(When that time comes and we already have the mpox vaccine available, we will give it first to those who deal with patients with mpox. They cannot get infected because they are our first line of defense.) 

Meanwhile, Domingo said that the next group to receive the vaccine are the “key populations.”

“Depende ‘yan sa datos na makikita natin. Ngayon nasa case number 10 tayo…pero based on epidemiology, bibilangin natin at titignan natin ano ba ang mga characteristic? Ano ba ‘yung mga behaviors? Saan ba nila nakukuha? At ‘yun uunahin nating bigyan,” he said. 

(That depends on the data we will see. Now we have a case number 10...but based on epidemiology, we will count the cases and determine their characteristics, their behaviors, and where they got the virus. And we will give the vaccines to them next.) 

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa earlier said that the Philippines is in the process of securing 2,000 doses of mpox vaccines that have been offered to the country.

On Thursday, the DOH said that it already signified intent from the World Health Organization (WHO) to get access to smallpox vaccines that can provide cross-protection against mpox.

The DOH said the current priority for the vaccination in the world is the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where mpox transmission is highest. 

Herbosa had convened the DOH's Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (EREID) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) to discuss the need to empower health workers like dermatologists who are more likely to see suspect mpox cases given the clear skin symptoms of the disease.

Common symptoms of mpox are a skin rash or mucosal lesions, which can last 2 to 4 weeks. The rashes are accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes. —KBK, GMA Integrated News