Dengvaxia won’t be used again, unless...

MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the Dengvaxia vaccine will not be used again unless there is a rapid testing kit that will check the dengue history of each recipient.

“I will not allow Dengvaxia to be used again by the Department of Health (DOH) unless we can determine whether a patient has had previous dengue infection or not,” he said.

Duque was referring to the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization released in April 2018 that Dengvaxia should be given only after a prospective recipient has undergone pre-screening for dengue.

WHO warned the vaccine could be harmful if administered to a person who did not have history of dengue. 

According to Duque, the DOH has been coordinating with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for the possible development of rapid testing kits in the country.

“I’ll be coordinating with the DOST for updates. But definitely, we will not use the Dengvaxia vaccine if we do not have the testing kits. Not under my watch,” he stressed. 

Duque welcomed the Senate approval of the P1.16-billion supplemental budget to assist children vaccinated with Dengvaxia. The budget represents the amount refunded by Sanofi Pasteur to the DOH for the unused Dengvaxia vaccines that were returned.

Of the P1.16 billion, some 81 percent will be for medical assistance program of Dengvaxia-vaccinees while 13 percent will be for public health management and six percent for human resource for health development.

“Majority of the budget or some P945.8 million will be allocated for the medical assistance program for Dengvaxia recipients seeking treatment, either confined at a hospital or outpatient,” Duque added. 

On the other hand, some P148.3 million will be spent on the assessment and monitoring of Dengvaxia recipients and for supplies and medicine, while P67.6 million will be used in the deployment of health workers who will follow up on complaints of the vaccine recipients.

“We are very pleased with the recent approval by the Senate of the DOH budget proposal which will certainly benefit, primarily the Dengvaxia-vaccinated children including their respective families,” he Duque said.