PUBLIC Attorney’s Office chief Persida Acosta on Friday hit Health Secretary Francisco Duque for trying to be defensive in the Dengvaxia probe.
In a radio interview over dzMM, Acosta said “I understand why they are [so] defensive.”
“Two children in Muntinlupa [City] were injected with Dengvaxia vaccine under his administration, the 16th and 18th children who had just recently died,” she said.
“Why create a panel despite the Department of Justice and National Bureau of Investigation’s order on us?” she asked.
She said Duque must not be defensive for saying PAO’s investigations were “inconclusive.”
“I am just wondering why Secretary Duque and Undersecretary [Rolando] Domingo are consistent in their [one] liner that [our] findings were not [that] conclusive,” she said.
“Be aggressive in saving the children’s lives, instead of being defensive. You always say that the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital is anchored on scientific objective. PAO is more objective and autonomous under Republic Act 9406,” she added.
“You always rely on the UP even if it does not have a tissue sample [laboratory]. The kin of the children who died do not trust UP-PGH to have them autopsied.”
Duque created a dengue investigative task force composed of medical experts from the UP-PGH, saying more tests must be needed to be able to link the deaths of the children to Dengvaxia vaccination.
He earlier claimed PAO was not cooperating with the DoH and was not sharing information.
Acosta on Friday claimed that 21 children who died due to Dengue fever and who were inoculated with the Dengvaxia vaccine showed pattern of deaths based on the autopsies of PAO’s forensic expert Erwin Erfe.
Meanwhile, Duque has promised to look after the needs of all vaccinated children and address the gaps observed in the rollout and implementation of the first dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia.
“I would like to assure the parents and the public that investigations are currently under way,” said Duque.
“Should there be any DoH official who will be proven to have transgressed any law or deviate from standard operating procedures in relation to the purchase and implementation of the dengue vaccine, I will make sure that they will face justice,” Duque assured the parents of the Dengvaxia recipients.
The Health chief emphasized his commitment to also unveil the truth with regard to the hasty implementation of the dengue vaccination program since March 2016.
He vowed full cooperation and transparency in the submission of documents to the Department of Justice and both houses of Congress who are separately conducting investigation on the now suspended dengue vaccination program.
“I deny any accusation that I am obstructing justice. I am not protecting anyone, most especially those allegedly involved in the controversial implementation of the dengue immunization. I am also after the truth and I am for the correction of the deficiencies observed in the rollout of the program,” Duque said.
The dengue vaccination program of the DoH started with the administration of former secretary Janette Garin.
It was Duque who ordered the termination of the dengue mass vaccination program after Sanofi-Pasteur, manufacturer of Dengvaxia, reported certain adverse effects following immunization.
“After Sanofi-Pasteur made public certain adverse effects caused by the vaccine following immunization, I ordered the immediate termination of the program,” Duque said.
Amid the ongoing investigation, the DOH is more focused on attending to the concerns of the more than 830,000 vaccine recipients and their families.
