Boy given Dengvaxia, hospitalized for dengue now out of harm’s way

CEBU, Philippines — The 10-year-old boy from Talisay City who was given the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine and was hospitalized for dengue last week has already been discharged from the hospital.

Jujen Ababon is now in good condition and his platelet count as of yesterday was already back to normal level, his mother Jenny Ababon told The FREEMAN.

Jujen was rushed to the hospital last Wednesday, December 6, for severe nose bleeding, and doctors later ruled that he was suffering from dengue.

He was among the thousands of children in Talisay City who got vaccinated with Dengvaxia, an anti-dengue vaccine found to be a health risk for children with no prior experience of dengue.

Jhonry Ababon, the boy’s father, was glad his eldest son has recovered from the illness as he threatened to file a case against the government if something bad had happened.

“Nalipay ko akong anak nakagawas na. Nakuyawan ko og maayo, nagrigor akong ulo unya wala pa gyuy kwarta. Dengue man unya naay nigawas balita nga dako daw tabang depensa (Dengvaxia), naunsang depensaa nga dako man gasto hinuon,” he said.

The city government, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development, will extend financial assistance worth P10,000 to the family. City Councilor Richard Francis Aznar has also extended financial aid to them while the DOH has vowed to shoulder all the hospital expenses of the boy, the family said.

Talisay City Mayor Eduardo Gullas has already instructed the City Administrator’s Office to send a letter to the Department of Health (DOH) asking for guidelines on how the city should go about the Dengvaxia controversy.

In a separate development, no policeman from Central Visayas was administered with Dengvaxia, according to Police Superintendent Mark Manfred Anthony Solero, acting chief of the Regional Health Service-7.

Solero issued the statement after reports that thousands of policemen in Manila got the vaccine from the Philippine Children's Medical Center (PCMC).

Solero said he did not request for a supply of the vaccine from the DOH for the policemen in the region.

"Wala ta mo-initiate og request sa DOH para maka-Dengvaxia ta,” he said. "It was my personal decision because during that period...nabusy ta sa ASEAN meetings.” (FREEMAN)