EDITORIAL - Second look at Dengvaxia

With 15 out of the country’s 17 regions surpassing the epidemic threshold for dengue cases, an infectious disease expert has suggested reviving the use of Dengvaxia.

In 2018, the country stopped the use of the world’s first vaccine against dengue amid hysteria over supposed deaths arising from the administration of Dengvaxia on about 800,000 school children nationwide. In 2019, the Department of Health told the Senate that there has been no confirmed death directly linked to Dengvaxia.

The controversy arose from a contraindication that pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur announced belatedly after continuing vaccine research and development on its product: Dengvaxia posed risks of more serious infection if administered to a person with no previous history of dengue.

As of this year, the US Centers for Disease Control has approved the use of Dengvaxia for children 9 to 16 years old with a previous history of laboratory-confirmed dengue infection, who live in areas where dengue is a regular occurrence, with no allergies to the vaccine ingredients, and with no weakened immune systems.

The 9 to 16 age group is at the highest risk for dengue infection, the CDC explained in its advisory dated Jan. 4, 2022, and Dengvaxia “protects children from dengue illness, hospitalization and severe dengue 8 out of 10 times.”

In response to the proposal to revive Dengvaxia, the Department of Health has said this would require a comprehensive study, with inputs from health experts. The DOH should ensure that genuine infectious disease experts and other scientists are consulted instead of anti-vaxxers whose shrill fulminations undermined the government’s overall vaccination program against a slew of preventable childhood diseases including measles and polio.

From Jan. 1 to June 25 this year, the DOH has recorded 64,797 dengue infections nationwide – a 90 percent jump from the 34,074 cases during the same period last year. The jump can be attributed to the easing of pandemic mobility restrictions particularly on children, and the numbers can still increase as in-person classes gradually resume.

Without a vaccine against the potentially deadly disease, the government has focused on the so-called 4S strategy: search and destroy mosquito breeding places, secure self-protection from mosquito bite, seek early consultation when signs and symptoms of dengue occur, and say yes to fogging.

If there are other ways of further promoting public health, however, the government should be open to reviewing its policies. Dengvaxia, now in use in 20 countries, deserves a second look.