I hope that not everyone will become vaccine opponents. After all, vaccine brings more advantages than disadvantages. I recall the eradication of smallpox and polio, not to mention that the vaccine against influenza has certainly saved many lives every year.
In this particular case in the Philippines, those responsible for the Department of Health’s procurement of anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia must be questioned. If it’s negligence, they should be punished and laws changed to provide more security. But I warn against opposing vaccination. Do not deny your children protection from infectious diseases.
The homepage of the World Health Organization states that every year, about three million children die of diseases that could have easily been prevented with one to three units of available vaccines, especially in developing countries.
Vaccinations are very good precautionary measures, in some cases against cancer. This incident should not lead parents into committing the mistake of depriving their children of vaccines. This would be a major medical error.
JUERGEN SCHOEFER, PhD