Senator Richard Gordon on Sunday defended Public Attorney’s Office chief Persida Acosta against calls for her to resign for allegedly undermining trust and confidence in the government’s vaccination program amid the measles outbreak.
Gordon, the Blue Ribbon committee chairperson, rejected the call for Acosta to resign even as he said that there was no proof that the children who were administered the anti-dengue vaccine died from Dengvaxia.
“What if it was investigated and it will come out that they did not die from Dengvaxia? They already turned hysterical so many refused to have the vaccines,” Gordon said.
He warned that if this would not stop, time will come when even the vaccination program on polio and tuberculosis would decline.
Gordon said that so far, the Red Cross had reported 98 deaths from measles while the DOH listed 115 deaths.
Since measles patients have been overflowing in the wards of public hospitals, Gordon said they put up airconditioned hospital tents to accommodate the other children patients so they would not be sharing beds.
On Saturday, Gordon said they had administered vaccines to 800 people including adults.
Meanwhile, based on the Quick count of the DOH-Calabarzon, Regional Director Eduardo Janaido said the total number of reported measles cases as of 8 am Sunday reached 2,328 with 54 deaths.
Records showed there were 284 cases with 7 deaths in Cavite, 325 cases with 6 deaths in Laguna, 236 with one death in Batangas, 1,268 cases with 40 deaths in Rizal and 215 cases in Quezon with one death.”‹