In the heat of public discussion is the controversial dengue immunization program of the Department of Health. The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability and Committee on Health held a joint probe on the Dengvaxia mess on Monday. Former and incumbent officials of the Department of Health and its attached agencies, as well as former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, and no less than former President Benigno Aquino III, faced the House panel to shed light on the previous administration’s controversial dengue immunization program.
Under the leadership of then Secretary Janette Garin, the DoH officially launched the P3.5-billion school-based dengue immunization program in April 2016. The department purchased the dengue vaccines from Zuellig Pharma, the sole distributor of Sanofi Pasteur’s Dengvaxia vaccine in the Philippines.
It took Sanofi Pasteur 20 years to develop the world’s first anti-dengue vaccine, and the Philippines was the first to make it commercially available. However, some doctors questioned the DoHs haste in launching the program. The DoH did not wait for the result of the report of the World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts, which reported that Dengvaxia, “may be ineffective or may theoretically even increase the future risk of hospitalized or severe dengue illness in those who are seronegative (those who have not yet had dengue) at the time of first vaccination regardless of age.” This prompted then Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial to temporarily suspend the school-based dengue immunization program. Two months later, she issued a Certificate of Exemption for Dengvaxia so it can still be used despite having seen some red flags relating to the dengue vaccine. Several trusted medical research facilities and institutions have also released reports on the risks of Dengvaxia vaccine.
The issues surrounding the dengue immunization program led to a House investigation in November 2016. The House Committee on Health then recommended the suspension of the expansion of the vaccination program, and urged the completion of necessary studies on Dengvaxia.
In November 2017, Sanofi Pasteur released the result of its new clinical data analysis, which determined that Dengvaxia is riskier for those who have not been previously infected by dengue virus, so it should not be recommended to this group.
Over 800,000 grade school students received immunization since the program was launched in 2016. Only 8 to 10 percent of these children have not had dengue yet. The DoH is now monitoring 40 cases of children who fell seriously ill, up from 30 in 2016, and nine deaths.
In a recent Senate probe, DoH Secretary Francisco Duque III revealed that the DoH did not wait for the results of clinical trials of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine on Dengvaxia before launching the school-based dengue immunization program. While in the House probe last Monday, Food and Drug Administration Director-General Charade Puno revealed that Sanofi Pasteur was aware of the health hazards of Dengvaxia even months before its launch in the Philippines, but it failed to disclose this.
Over 800,000 leftover vaccines were returned by the DoH to Sanofi. It was confirmed by DoH Secretary Francisco Duque III that Sanofi Pasteur has refunded P1.6 billion worth of unused Dengvaxia. He has also submitted a formal request for a full refund of all the used and unused vaccines.
This is the tragic reality. We pay the price of irresponsible decisions. My sympathy goes to the parents of children who have been vaccinated because they are living each day with fear due to the health risks their children are facing. As the Minority Leader, I will be vigilant in monitoring this issue. Definitely, criminal charges should be filed against those who will be proven to have neglected their duties.