TO allow or not to allow?
That is the question bugging the Department of Health (DOH) vis-a-vis the call of its former head, now congresswoman Janet Garin (1st District, Iloilo), to bring back the controversial anti-dengue vaccination program to quell the rising tide of dengue cases.
But the chief of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), Persida Acosta, remains steadfast in linking the use of the vaccine to over 30 deaths. Of course, she is not expected to change her mind, since it was her office that filed criminal complaints against Garin and 19 other DOH personnel for “reckless imprudence resulting to multiple homicide” over the deaths of 30 children who had been vaccinated.
The latest DOH information is that in the first six months of 2019, there had already been more than 130,000 reported dengue cases nationwide, with 561 deaths. Western Visayas suffered the most with 18,943 cases and 95 deaths.
One recalls that as DOH chief in the Aquino administration, Garin spearheaded the P3.5-billion anti-dengue program, resulting in the vaccination of more than 837,000 schoolchildren.
The French manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur, however, belatedly conceded that Dengvaxia would work only on patients with previous exposure to dengue; and preferably on those between nine and 45 years old.
In December 2017, the Food and Drug Administration (DFA) suspended the vaccine’s certificate of product registration despite the opinion of DOH’s vaccine experts that there had been no proven links yet between Dengvaxia and the reported deaths.
Nevertheless, the kin of “victim” Abbie Hedia held Sanofi Pasteur and drug distributor Zuellig Pharma Corporation responsible for her death. The case is now awaiting decision before Judge Manuel Sta Cruz Jr. of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.
We can now imagine incumbent Health secretary Francisco Duque III squirming in the wake of presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo’s announcement that the government might now consider re-patronizing Dengvaxia.
Why would Duque not be vulnerable to pressure under a sword of Damocles? He himself is being probed by the National Bureau of Investigation on charges of defrauding the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) of billions of pesos through fictitious claims.
An influential lobby group of doctors, the Doctors for Truth and Public Welfare (DTPW), wants Dengvaxia back, citing its acceptability to the World Health Organization (WHO). The DTPW recently came out with the statement that the Philippines “has the highest incidence and death rate from dengue, yet it is the only country in the world that has banned it.”
So why not vaccinate patients who had previously been dengue-afflicted?
To that question, ABS-CBN TV recently interviewed Dr. Scott B. Halstead, an 87-year-old US-based scientist, who said, “If I were the government, I would not let Sanofi back unless they make some significant contributions to lower the burden of dengue.”
Congresswoman Garin is of different persuasion. In an interview over the radio program “Tribuna sang Banwa” on Aksyon Radyo, she cited the vaccine’s acceptability in 20 other dengue-prone countries as proof of its effectiveness.
Unfortunately, pro-Dengvaxia lobbyists like those comprising the Doctors for Truth and Public Welfare (DTPW), would always be suspected of bias. Physicians are by nature susceptible to “incentives” offered by the pharmaceutical companies – say, free trips abroad.
They would not profit from herbal alternatives, unless these are bottled by drug companies and approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
We heard of “experimenters” trying to formulate bottled forms of papaya leaves and tawatawa. But they swear it costs a fortune to have a concoction FDA-tested and FDA-approved.
Indeed, it’s money that makes the world go ‘round. (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)
