MANILA – The government is not discounting the possibility of reviving the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia due the increasing number of dengue victims in the country.
President Rodrigo Duterte is open to allow the use of the controversial dengue vaccine if experts recommend it, according to Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo.
“That has to be discussed thoroughly and extensively. We need experts to support any call for the return of Dengvaxia,” Panelo said. “We’re always open to anything that will benefit the Filipino people. We’re not closed to any suggestion.”
“We need to thoroughly investigate exactly the situation involving Dengvaxia,” he added. “Certainly, if the weight of the findings shows that there is benefit in using Dengvaxia against dengue, then certainly the government should consider it.”
Iloilo representative Janette Garin, former Department of Health (DOH) secretary, recently suggested making the vaccine available again to the public amid rise in the number of dengue cases in Western Visayas.
The administration of former president Benigno Aquino III initiated the nationwide immunization program in the summer of 2016, purchasing P3.5-billion Dengvaxia shots for 1-million public school children in regions reported to have the highest incidence of dengue.
The DOH stopped the program in Dec. 2017 after Sanofi Pasteur said it might increase the risk of severe dengue in recipients who have not contracted the mosquito-borne disease. At the time, over 800,000 school children were given the shots./PN
