THE Health Department said Friday that an investigation by a team from the Philippine General Hospital into the death of 14 children given the Dengvaxia vaccine has strengthened its resolve to keep the dengue immunization program suspended.
In a statement, the department said the results showed that Dengvaxia, manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur, is unit for a mass immunization program that does not screen for prior infection or the presence of one or more additional diseases or comorbidity.
The report said that in three cases, a causal association was observed. The children died due to dengue despite being vaccinated with Dengvaxia—two of which may be on account of vaccine failure.
“Therefore, further testing of tissue samples and antibodies is also necessary in these cases to complete the investigation,” the department said.
Three of the 14 cases were found to be coincidental because there was an inconsistent causal association to immunization.
Two cases were unclassifiable due to inadequate information available.
In six cases, mortalities were observed in vaccine recipients with other diseases, and the children died within 30 days of receiving the vaccine.
The Health Department said further testing of tissue samples was needed to complete the investigation.
In November 2017, Sanofi Pasteur announced that new clinical data analysis showed that Dengvaxia was more risky for people not previously infected by dengue. On Dec. 1, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III suspended the dengue vaccination program that had already administered the vaccine to 830,000 children.
The Health department later asked an independent group of experts from PGH to review the first cases of mortalities among Dengvaxia recipients.
The department said it would turn over the PGH report to the Justice department, which is investigating those who could be held accountable for the P3.5-billion vaccination program.
“We will do everything possible in our power to monitor the children and provide them immediate medical care if needed. Likewise, the DoH will strengthen its systems and processes in the implementation of the National Immunization Program in order to address and prevent observed deficiencies in the roll-out of new vaccines, like Dengvaxia,” the department said.
At the same time, Duque announced interim guidelines on surveillance, dengue case management and patient referral and risk communication to address the issues and concerns as a result of the dengue vaccination program.
Meanwhile, former Health secretaries and specialist doctors Esperanza Cabral and Manuel Dayrit and 100 doctors called for sobriety amid the panic and hysteria brought about by the Dengvaxia controversy.
“The unnecessary fear and panic, largely brought about by the imprudent language and unsubstantiated accusations by persons whose qualifications to render any expert opinion on the matter are questionable at best, have caused many parents to resist having their children avail of life saving vaccines that our government gives. Even deworming efforts are being met with suspicion and resistance, with many parents afraid to give consent; all because of the misinformation that has been allowed to take hold of the collective psyche,” a joint statement said.
The doctors said they fear that if the trend continues and parents refuse vaccination for their children, life threatening outbreaks may occur.
The Philippine Children’s Medical Center, meanwhile, said the “alarmist attitude” of the Public Attorney’s Office in dealing with the Dengvaxia issue has brought a flood of patients that has strained the resources of the government hospital.
According to one resident doctor who asked to remain anonymous for fear of a backlash from PAO, “Persida Acosta brought a horde of media to the PCMC emergency room, disrupting hospital operations. The management is now helpless.”
The hysteria and panic has allegedly been attributed to lawyer Rueda Persida Acosta and PAO Forensic doctor Erwin Erfe’s statements of alleged deaths due to dengvaxia, PCMC said.
Funds and manpower are now being drained to accommodate the influx of patients, even those who do not have dengue symptoms, the hospital added.
Also on Friday, Health Undersecretary Rolando Enrique Domingo said that more and more people are staying away from the department’s health and vaccination programs after the Dengvaxia controversy.
“Our health programs are suffering. We’re having a lot of difficulties,” he said at a press conference.
“Even our vaccination rates are suffering. They are afraid of being vaccinated regardles of the vaccine. We recently had a measles outbreak in Davao, where the vaccination rate has dropped,” Domingo said in a mix of Filipino and English.
Domingo urged parents not to allow the Dengvaxia issue cloud their judgment about vaccination.