E-newsletter – Philippine Pediatric Society, Inc.

August 24, 2021

PPS-CV CELEBRATES BREASTFEEDING MONTH

The Philippine Pediatric Society-Central Visayas Chapter celebrated August as National and World Breastfeeding Awareness Month last August 8, 2021, in collaboration with the Milk Making Mommies, Breastfeeding Support Group and Department of Health Region 7. Line up of virtual activities were held via Zoom and Facebook Live. The said online event started at 10am with Global Big Latch on Cebu, together with other breastfeeding mothers in different locations in the Philippines and around the globe, wherein babies were breastfed for 1 full minute. After the Global Big Latch program, followed virtual talks on breastfeeding, namely; Girl Talk: Breastmilk Donation in the time of COVID; Fast Talk: Can I Have the COVID-19 Vaccine While Breastfeeding with Dr. Helen V. Madamba, OB-Gyne Infectious Disease Specialist and Dr. Ma. Claire G. Marollano, chairman of PPS-CV Breastfeeding Committee; and Business Talk: Turn Your Passion Into Business.

A TikTok Breastfeeding Dance Challenge was also organized and was participated by pediatricians, as well as different HAB training hospitals of Central Visayas. Twelve entries were posted in the Facebook. Top 5 winners were announced during the culminating part of the virtual breastfeeding celebration.

A culminating Breastfeeding Lay Forum will also be held on August 28, 2021 at 2PM with guest speakers: Ms. Krystle Gail Uy-Young and Dr. Anna Christina Cusi. Another TikTok and Breastfeeding Photo Contests will be done and open to all breastfeeding mothers and netizens.

The said activities were organized though efforts of PPS-CV Breastfeeding Committee, spearheaded by the chair, Dr. Ma. Claire G. Marollano and supported by the current PPS-CV Board of Officers. This is to emphasize the importance of breastfeeding as highly beneficial public health intervention for mothers and children on the First 1,000 Days. Protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding is a shared resposibility of the family, community and other members of the society.

June 1, 2021

Focusing on Gastrointestinal Concerns : PSPGHAN’s First Online Convention

The 15th Annual Convention of the Philippine Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (PSPGHAN) was held on March 8-10, 2021. The convention was intended for the health care professionals and allied health care providers handling pediatric patients with common gastrointestinal diseases. The convention entitled Clues, Challenges and Crossroads: The Management of Common Gastrointestinal Diseases was a 3-day event that was facilitated through a virtual online platform. The conference aim to help Pediatricians and other allied health care professionals to gain more knowledge on the clinical clues and help overcome challenges in managing pediatric patients with gastrointestinal concerns.

The Dr. Perla D. Santos Ocampo Professorial Lecture was one of the highlights of the convention. Dr. Carmencita Padilla, Chancellor of University of the Philippines Manila, delivered the lecture on Personalized Medicine and Pharmacogenomics in Gastrointestinal Diseases. The other scientific lectures were delivered by the esteemed speakers that focused on providing updates on topics on gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition that are commonly encountered in the clinics. Dr. Vicente Belizario, Jr. was a guest speaker who shared his expertise on the facts of intestinal parasitism. The PSPGHAN speakers of the convention were a combination of senior and younger colleagues.

Resource materials such as Bristol stool chart, Stool color card, Pinggang Pinoy and the 2020 PSPGHAN Guidelines for Health Care Professionals on the Treatment of Acute Gastroenteritis with no signs of dehydration were posted and made accessible for the attendees.

The society also encourages participation of young scientists in the conduct of research. Twelve researches participated in the e-poster presentation. The best research was chosen to receive the first Dr. Arturo Ludan Research Award. A video tribute dedicated to honor one of the pillars of the Society, Dr. Ludan, was presented in the closing ceremonies.

The Organizing Committee was headed by Dr. Ma. Charina Dizon with the support from PSPGHAN President Dr. Marilou Tan and the Board of Trustees. The first virtual PSPGHAN Convention was a great success despite the challenges of the pandemic. The convention registration fee was waived to more than 5000 delegates who attended the virtual convention.

This article was shared by Dr. Sarabeth de Castro , a pediatric gastroenterologist and a member of the Philippine Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition .

October 15, 2020

Let’s Champion Immunization!

Vaccination has long been recognized as a proven preventive measure in the control and at best in the eradication of life -threatening infections . One perfect example is smallpox .

Immunization coverage rates for vaccines against preventable diseases such as diphtheria, polio, pertussis, Hib, rotavirus , tetanus , pneumococcal and measles have plateaued and has never reached the 95% target since its introduction in the 1980`s in national immunization programs , giving rise to outbreaks in certain regions globally. (1)

In the Philippines, coverage rates have suffered drastically in the last couple of years due to fears of vaccine safety, vaccine misinformation and disinformation which has impacted on our public health programs.

The pandemic has further driven down these rates at alarming levels leaving our children and the vulnerable susceptible to disease and requiring targeted strategies.

It is in this direction that we urge our fellow pediatricians to once again encourage their patients to have their catchup immunization and support the Department of Health`s Campaign against Measles and Polio .

Your Top 3 Safety Issues Answered

QUESTION 1 : Do vaccines undergo extensive investigation ?

Yes. The whole scientific process from development to manufacture and licensure is lengthy, thorough , respects ethical considerations and is always under the administration of regulatory authorities such as the FDA

QUESTION 2 : What is the purpose of clinical trials?

Clinical Trials involve human volunteers and are conducted in 4 phases to ensure vaccine safety and effectiveness. (2)

4 Phases

Phase 1 : Test of safety, efficacy, occurrence of serious side effects, size of dose related to side effects

Phase 2 : Test of most common short term side effects, response of immune system of volunteers to the vaccine

Phase 3 : Test between people who get the vaccine as opposed to those who do not ,and how they compare , vaccine safety , effectiveness , and the more common side effects.

Phase 4: Involves continuous monitoring of safety and effectiveness after licensure for public use

QUESTION 3 : What are the possible harmful side effects of vaccines and can they cause illness and even death ?

Vaccines are actually very safe, despite implications to the contrary in many anti-vaccine publications. Most vaccine adverse events are minor and temporary, such as a sore arm or mild fever. These can often be controlled by taking paracetamol after vaccination. More serious adverse events occur rarely (on the order of one per thousands to one per millions of doses), and some are so rare that risk cannot be accurately assessed. As for vaccines causing death, again so few deaths can plausibly be attributed to vaccines that it is hard to assess the risk statistically.(3)

References:

1.WUENIC-Immunization Coverage- are we losing ground . 2020

2.https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/ensuringsafety

3.https://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/initiative/detection/immunization_misconceptions

This has been prepared by the PPS Committee on Immunization.