Dengvaxia’s fate known in 10 days

MANILA, Philippines — The next 10 days will see whether the Dengvaxia vaccine will be allowed back in the Philippine market for use in mass immunization.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said he is meeting with experts from the University of the Philippines and other groups to determine if the government should allow the return of Dengvaxia.

“We want to come out with the decision the soonest, but the situation concerning Dengvaxia is not that simple,” Duque said yesterday in a radio interview.

He pointed out that before coming out with a decision, a consensus must be reached between those favoring and those opposing its use.

“There are different positions on Dengvaxia, so it would be good if there will be consensus among experts. We will see but we can probably come out with a decision in 10 days,” he added.

Duque stressed that the DOH cannot just come out immediately with a decision because allowing the use of Dengvaxia again in the country could result in health and legal implications.

He said that he would present the dengue situation in the country and seek the suggestion of Cabinet members as he noted that the DOH and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revoked the certificate of product registration (CPR) of Dengvaxia in 2017 after Sanofi admitted that the vaccine poses risks to those who have not been previously infected with dengue.

The Dengvaxia scare, he added, even affected other vaccines that have long been proven effective in controlling potentially deadly infection, like measles.

Duque noted that Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore are using Dengvaxia only on a limited scale.

“It’s being used for private patients with close supervision of doctors to avoid severe dengue reaction,” he added.

To him, the government should make a thorough review of the vaccine and existing guidelines on its use so as not to endanger the lives of young children.

Former health secretary Esperanza Cabral, a member of Doctors for Truth and Public Welfare which is pushing for the return of the Dengvaxia vaccine in the country, suggested that the government make it available for those who want it and need it.

She clarified though that the vaccine is not a cure to dengue.

“It will prevent you from having another bout with dengue or will reduce the severity of the next bout with dengue if you ever had one,” she said.

Dengvaxia was blamed by the families of more than 30 children as causing the death of their loved ones who were injected with the vaccine during the mass immunization program implemented during the Aquino administration.

Yesterday, Duque met with some Cavite local government officials to guide them on the appropriate response to the continued rise in the number of dengue cases in the province. – Helen Flores