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| #WallAgainstDengue advocates with Sanofi Pasteur Medical Director Dr. Ruby Dizon |
Filipino celebrities Christine Bersola-Babao, Paolo Abrera,
and Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan have joined hands with Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine
division of multinational pharmaceutical leader Sanofi, in combating the
perennial and often fatal health threats of dengue in the country.
During the official press launch of Sanofi Pasteur’s
#WallAgainstDengue campaign, which was recently held in Hotel Novotel Manila,
the three celebrity advocates spoke up about their own battle with dengue and
why they chose to spread the message and inspire the community to work
together in building the wall that will prevent the spread of dengue.
The symbolic Wall Against Dengue is made possible by Sanofi
Pasteur’s introduction of the first-ever dengue vaccine, which is now available
after 20 years of research and development to ensure its potency in protecting
humans against the dreaded illness.
A known multimedia personality who is a host, producer,
author of children’s books, and active advocate of community development
campaigns, Christine Bersola-Babao was not spared from dengue. In fact, she
contracted and survived dengue three times. This is why she is exceptionally
vocal about the #WallAgainstDengue campaign.
“I have two kids and I don’t want them to suffer the way I
did when I had dengue. I’m happy that after 20 years of development, we now
have the dengue vaccine. I would take the dengue vaccine anytime. At least
there’s a precautionary measure rather than having none at all. I will definitely
want my kids to be protected by the dengue vaccine, and I am encouraging the
community to take advantage of this opportunity, to take this first step in
possibly eliminating future risks of dengue so that no one will have to suffer
and die of dengue anymore,” she shared.
Like Christine, TV host Paolo Abrera and actress-columnist-health
& wellness advocate Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan also have their own dengue
experiences. A father of three and
husband to fellow #WallAgainstDengue advocate and TV host Suzy Entrata-Abrera,
Paolo had dengue 7 or 8 years ago when he was at the height of his physical
activeness.
“I was doing a lot of triathlons and marathons at that time, so I felt that I was physically fit and that I was invincible,” Paolo disclosed. “I don’t know where I got it but I came down with the classic symptoms: may fever tapos ang sakit-sakit ng likod ko, sakit-sakit behind my eyes. It was a terrible time. I was admitted to the hospital. Napaka-powerless ng feeling, napaka-helpless… For somebody who was at the peak of his activeness, parang feeling ko walang puwedeng dumapo sa akin. But I still came down with dengue and it was very hard physically on the body, nakakapanghina talaga siya.
“Last year, yung bunso namin also had dengue. Thankfully, it
was a mild case but as a parent who already went through the experience of
dengue, ayaw mo na mangyari yun to anybody else, most especially to people whom
I love. My wife and our other two kids have not had dengue, thankfully. It’s
something you don’t want to go through anymore. And now that there’s a dengue
vaccine, we’re obviously going to try and be part of the wall to protect you
and your family. Be one of the bricks on that wall; be part of the puzzle to
help the community to stop the spread of dengue.”
Maricel also shared that she had dengue two times and that her
eldest daughter had it, too. “The struggle is real. We all have our own unique stories
to tell. I was in a safari tour in Africa with my parents and siblings when I
got a call that my daughter had dengue. I came to Africa prepared – I got my
malaria shots and all – but then my own daughter got sick with dengue because
there was no vaccine against dengue at that time,” she recalled. “It was so
heartbreaking for a mother like me. I don’t want to ever go through that again.
No one should ever go through that. Having a dengue vaccine is one amazing
step.”
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| Sanofi Pasteur puts up the Wall Against Dengue with its dengue vaccine |
According to Philippine Foundation for Vaccination executive
director Dr. Lulu Bravo, the first case of dengue hemorrhagic disease, which
now infects 390 million people a year, was first reported in the Philippines
way back in 1954 by her erstwhile boss, Dr. Lino Lim.
“We should be proud because the Philippines is also the
first country to use the dengue vaccine in the National Immunization Program,”
said Dr. Bravo, who has been a pediatrician for 43 years and has been actively
involved in the dengue vaccine program. “Dr. Lino Lim always told us that there
should be something we can do about dengue, because you don’t want to see the
children suffering and bleeding. It’s so frustrating because oftentimes you can’t
do anything. There is no medicine for dengue.”
Although there is no medicine for dengue, Dr. Bravo
stressed: “The cure for dengue is water. Not tawa-tawa. It’s water, water, and
water. The mere hydration of children could save their lives.”
Through Sanofi Pasteur’s dengue vaccine, the fight against
dengue has become a reality. Finally, people can now take the first step in
protecting themselves and the community against the dreaded mosquito-borne
disease. The #WallAgainstDengue campaign aims to spread this awareness that,
together, we can do something to make dengue a thing of the past, so that no
child will ever have to die and no one will ever have to suffer from the
debilitating illness.