The Department of Health (DOH) in the Republic of the Philippines has taken action to address the Pertussis outbreak.
Data as of March 30, 2024, indicates that there have been 1,112 Pertussis (whooping cough) cases since the start of 2024, which is almost 34 times higher than during the same period in 2023.
The majority of these cases were found in unvaccinated children under the age of five.
On April 11, 2024, the DOH reassured the public that outbreak response immunization was underway—however, the national government's inventory is in short supply.
Philippines Deploys Pentavalent Vaccine Against Pertussis Outbreak
Real World Evidence Supports Protein-based COVID-19 Vaccination
In the early stages of the recent pandemic, clinical studies reported differing levels of effectiveness for COVID-19 vaccines.
One reason for this was that people's immune composition was continuously changing due to new SARS-CoV-2 variants, booster doses, and updated vaccine types.
However, one missing data component was needed to understand these innovative vaccines' effectiveness fully.
Recently, real-world evidence was published that supports the continued use of protein-based COVID-19 vaccines.
SARS-CoV-2 Positivity Not Linked to New Asthma Diagnosis in Children
Black race, food allergies, allergic rhinitis significantly associated with new diagnosis of asthma