Sanofi denies asking for probe on dengue vaccination program

MANILA, Philippines - As the Senate digs deeper into the immunization programs of the Department of Health (DOH), pharmaceutical company Sanofi yesterday denied asking for an investigation.

Gerrard Paez, Sanofi external affairs director, clarified that they were “not in any way” asking the Senate to expand its probe on the department’s dengue vaccine program.

“Our point was that in any immunization program, adverse events may take place, which is why there is the National Adverse Event Following Immunization Council (NAEFIC) that looks into and investigates adverse events,” Paez told The STAR.

He said the NAEFIC is tasked to monitor adverse events, like an unexpected reaction of a patient after being administered a pharmaceutical product.

“Like, for instance, if someone fell ill after being vaccinated, the council will have to investigate if the vaccination has something to do with the illness… This is part of any robust immunization program to ensure that proper mechanisms are in place to monitor the program,” Paez noted.

The Senate is looking into the DOH dengue vaccination program, which benefits more than 400,000 Grade 4 public school students in the National Capital Region, Central Luzon and Calabarzon areas.

It noted the case of an 11-year-old boy from Bataan who had a congenital heart disease and who died several days after getting vaccinated.

The DOH, however, ruled that the death had nothing to do with the vaccine.