DOH creates task force on Dengvaxia mess

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health has formed a task force that will review the government’s school-based immunization program and monitor the children who had been vaccinated.

“This shall guide the Department of Health in responding to the safety concerns relevant to the use of this vaccine and how to proceed with the dengue program to ensure safeguards and prevent similar incidents in the future,” DOH secretary Francisco Duque III said in a press briefing Friday.

The task force is composed of top officials from the DOH Central Office, its regional offices in Central Luzon, CALABARZON and National Capital Region, as well as executives from the Food and Drug Administration, Philippine Insurance Corporation and the National Children’s Hospital.

The department will also hire 30 personnel who will be deployed for surveillance and data collection to the hospitals in the regions where vaccinations were conducted.

“We will continue to be vigilant in monitoring our children for any adverse event following immunization and will strengthen the readiness of our public hospitals in attending to any severe dengue cases that may occur,” Duque said.

DOH is also updating its master list of the 830,000 students vaccinated with Dengvaxia.

READ: DOH orders 'enhanced surveillance' of students given Dengvaxia

Refund, indemnification fund

The task force on Dengvaxia will also have a legal team that will look into the accountability of the Sanofi Pasteur, the manufacturer of the world’s first dengue vaccine.

The health secretary also announced that the agency will demand the refund of the P3.5 billion paid for the Dengvaxia and an indemnification fund from the pharmaceutical giant to cover the treatment of all children who might contract severe dengue after being immunized.

PhilHealth will cover the expenses of any child who may be hospitalized due to severe dengue up to P16,000.

Duque again reiterated his call for former president Benigno Aquino III and former health secretary Janette Garin to shed light on the procurement of the dengue vaccines.

“It’s hard to second guess the former health secretary and the former president. But it’s really up to them if they would like to clarify some issues on the matter because they were the ones who made the very vital decision to procure the vaccine,” he said.

Sen. JV Ejercito, chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, is eyeing holding an inquiry into the vaccination program of the Department of Health by January 2018.

DOH immediately placed the government’s dengue vaccination program on hold following the announcement of French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi Pasteur that the vaccine poses risks to those who were not infected by dengue virus before.

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday ordered to stop the sale and distribution of Dengvaxia and the withdrawal of stocks.

DOH launched the program in 2016.

READ: DOH suspends dengue immunization program over potential health risk