SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday urged local government units to assist the Department of Health in rolling out catch-up vaccinations for kids amid the persistent high pertussis or whooping cough cases, which have already totaled 862 as of March 23.

In a statement, the DOH said that the total number of pertussis cases is already 30 times higher than the numbers recorded at the same time last year.

The department also recorded 49 deaths due to pertussis since the beginning of the year.

The department further noted that 79% of infected patients were children younger than five years old, six out of ten of whom were either unvaccinated or had an unfamiliar vaccination history.

Previously, the DOH only had 64,000 pentavalent (5-in-1) vaccine doses, which offer protection from pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B.

The DOH has already procured and is now waiting for 3 million pentavalent doses.

In the long run, Gatchalian also emphasized the need to boost local capacity for vaccine development.

The senator filed the Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines Act of 2022 or Senate Bill 941, which seeks to provide initiatives that boost local vaccine development, sustain production, and boost technology transfer.

The proposed measure seeks to create the VIP, which shall serve as the premier research and development institute in the field of virology, encompassing all areas in viruses and viral diseases in plants, animals, and humans.

“Sa kabila ng patuloy na pagtaas ng mga kaso ng pertussis, mahalagang paigtingin natin ang pagbabakuna upang mabigyan ng proteksyon ang ating mga kababayan, lalo na ang mga batang may mas mataas na panganib na magkaroon ng sakit. Napatunayan nang ligtas at epektibo ang mga bakuna laban sa mga sakit, kaya naman hinihimok natin ang mga LGU na paigtingin ang pagbabakuna,” said Gatchalian.