MANILA – With the recent declaration of the national dengue epidemic by the Department of Health (DOH), President Rodrigo Duterte said he is considering the return of the Dengvaxia vaccine.
Duterte on Thursday said he will consider making the controversial vaccine available again to the public but he wanted to get the experts’ opinion on the matter.
“I am open to the use of Dengvaxia again. Maraming patay na, it’s an epidemic,” Duterte said. “I’m in a quandary whether to allow Dengvaxia or not.”
“I want to hear the words of the experts, doctors. And we have enough bright people here to tell us. I do not need foreigners to tell me, my own Filipino scientists and doctors would tell me what to do. I will be guided by their announcements,” he added.
“If nobody would believe me, still I would say that if there is anything there in the Western medicine and even itong herbal ng mga Oriental if it could mean saving people’s lives, I’ll go for it,” Duterte said.
Iloilo representative Janette Garin, former Department of Health (DOH) secretary, has suggested making the vaccine available again to the public due to the rising number of dengue victims.
The Palace said it is considering the possible return of the vaccine.
“If the weight of the findings shows that there is benefit using Dengvaxia against dengue then certainly the government should consider it,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.
Former president Benigno Aquino III’s administration initiated the nationwide immunization program in the summer of 2016, purchasing P3.5-billion in Dengvaxia shots for 1-million public school children in regions reported to have the highest incidence of dengue.
The DOH has stopped the program in Dec. 2017 after Sanofi Pasteur said it might increase the risk of severe dengue in recipients who had not contracted the mosquito-borne disease. At the time, over 800,000 school children received the shots./PN
