Palace agrees Dengvaxia scare sank vaccine confidence

MANILA, Philippines — The Dengvaxia scare may have contributed to an outbreak of measles in parts of the Philippines, Malacañang said Thursday, while also acknowledging Public Attorney's Office Chief Persida Acosta's "passion" for cases related to the controversial vaccine.

“Is that the reality [that the Dengvaxia probe caused vaccine scare]? Was the scandal what discouraged people from vaccinating? It seems so,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo told Palace reporters on Thursday. 

The Department of Health confirmed Wednesday that there were a measles outbreaks in Metro Manila and Central Luzon. On Thursday, the DOH said there have alse been high incidences of measles cases in Central and Eastern Visayas. 

READ: Measles outbreak expanded to other regions

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has blamed PAO Chief Acosta's claims that the anti-dengue vaccine has caused the deaths of at least 32 people for a supposed erosion in the public's trust in the Health department and in vaccines.

Acosta has been filing cases over deaths that she said happened after the victims were given Dengvaxia and that she said were caused by the vaccine, which was found in November 2017 to put those given the vaccine and who had not previously had dengue at risk of contracting severe dengue.

The Department of Health and other experts have said that there is no direct link between Dengvaxia and the deaths of the children the PAO has investigated.

READ: ‘No proof Dengvaxia linked to deaths of 14 kids’  

Panelo said he agrees with this assessment.  

“Duque's finding show deaths were linked to pneumonia, heart disease TB (tuberculosis) etc…,” Panelo said. 

Duque said the “baseless” statements have eroded the agency’s reputation and affected trust in vaccines. 

READ: How the Dengvaxia scare helped erode decades of public trust in vaccines

A 2018 study of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine noted that the country’s “highly-politicized response” to the reported risks posed by Dengvaxia has eroded overall public trust in immunization.

The research, which involved 1,500 participants, found that the respondents who expressed confidence in vaccines declined to 32 percent last year from 93 percent in 2015.

Acosta said however that her office should not be blamed for the outbreak. 

Acosta: DOH should take responsibility

"The one who should take responsibility is the DOH,” Acosta said in an interview with GMA’s "Unang Balita". She said: "They should be the ones to explain."

She said PAO was “only doing its job” in carrying out the Dengvaxia investigations.

Despite the Palace’s agreement with Duque, Panelo said they would also not stop Acosta from continuing the Dengvaxia probe. 

He said that he understands Acosta’s “passion” as a lawyer. 

“Well you know, the PAO chief as a lawyer is defending a theory that favors the clients. She's pursuing an advocacy, and [is] impassioned,” Panelo said. 

He added, “So I cannot blame her for that. But even if we do that as lawyers, we are confronted with realities that our position may affect and impact negatively on the general public.”
Acosta filed a case against Duque and 30 respondents April 2018 over death's the PAO chief believes to be caused by the dengvaxia vaccine, despite the fact that medical experts have rebuked this theory.

READ: Doctors' group urges PAO to quit spreading unproven Dengvaxia claims

Duque called the charges "baseless" and "oppressive."

According to Panelo, President Rodrigo Duterte —  who encouraged the public last week to trust vaccinations — told Duque not to worry about the cases. 

“[He said] don’t worry about your case, because it will prosper against,” Panelo said, saying the president was supportive of Duque. “The president is always affected by any negative outcome that relates to children,” he added.

On Wednesday, Vice President Leni Robredo told the public to avoid “irresponsible comments” but would also not point specifically on who was to blame for the measles outbreak. 

READ: Avoid irresponsible comments vs vaccines, Robredo says, amid measles outbreak

“[S]ana naiiwasan iyong mga irresponsible na mga comments saka accusation, na nakaka-erode ng tiwala ng tao sa kung ano iyong dapat nilang gawin, lalo na pagdating sa health ng mga bata,” Robredo said. (We should avoid irresponsible comments and accusations that erode trust in what should be done, especially when it comes to children’s health)

“Itong vaccination na ito, parang — halimbawa, iyong measles, ano na tayo, eh, maganda na iyong numero natin at papunta na tayo doon sa eradication. Tapos dahil sa mga irresponsible na mga accusations, mga buhay ng ating mga kabataan iyong itinataya.” (These vaccinations, for example — measles, it was headed toward eradication. Then because of irresponsible accusations, our children’s lives are now at stake)