BACOLOD City – The City Health Office (CHO) is still waiting for anti-rabies vaccine from the Department of Health.
The CHO is expecting 70 vials of the vaccine from the agency.
But the vials are projected to last for only three days, said CHO rabies medical coordinator Dr. Diana Rose Laput.
City Health Officer Ma. Carmela Gensoli said they have been waiting for the vials since April 5, adding that they already recorded 700 animal bite patients in Bacolod as of May 3.
The CHO cannot accommodate the patients due to the unavailability of vaccine, Gensoli lamented.
It has earlier advised animal bite patients to buy anti-rabies vaccine in a pharmacy in the city that still has supply.
The vaccine shortage came after GlaxoSmithKline – one of the two companies supplying anti-rabies vaccines to the Philippines – had stopped its delivery.
March last year, the Chinese government discovered bacterial residue in GlaxoSmithKline’s products, prompting the stoppage of delivery.
GlaxoSmithKline had been supplying the anti-rabies vaccine rabipur to the Philippines while the other company Sanofi, the berorub.
Sanofi had continued sending its anti-rabies vaccine to the country but its supply was not enough.
According to CHO officials, the resumption date of the vaccine manufacture is still indefinite.
Meanwhile, animal bite patients in the city have strategized to buy anti-rabies vaccines in groups. This is to save money, they said.
One vial is good for two to five persons. Its cost ranges from P1,200 to P1,700 depending on the brand.
Laput encouraged pet owners in Bacolod to update the immunization of their animals, especially dogs.
She added that most rabies patients in the city were bitten by dogs./PN
