GOVERNMENT should allow the private sector to procure the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia as the number of cases in the country continue to rise, former health secretary and now newly re-elected Iloilo Rep. Janet Garin said yesterday
She said 23 countries are using the vaccine which was blamed in the past administration for the deaths of vaccinees. She said under global regulations, any vaccine or medicine would be immediately recalled “if even a single death is attributed” to it.
“The World Health Organization has listed dengue vaccine under the EML (Essential Medicines List), meaning all countries should make it available to its people at all times. It will be fine for the government not to procure but for those who can afford and for pediatricians who would like their patients to be protected, they should be given that prerogative,” she said in a statement.
Garin, who was health secretary from 2015 to 2016 under the Aquino administration, said the Marcos government should look into the reasons Dengvaxia’s certificate of product registration (CPR) was revoked.
The CPR was revoked by the Duterte administration.
“If we check with DOH (Department of Health) or FDA (Food and Drug Administration), it wasn’t because of safety issues but for purely administrative reasons only,” she said in mixed Filipino and English.
Dengvaxia was used in the government’s an anti-dengue vaccination program in 2016, which involved hundreds of thousands of students. While some blamed the vaccine for the death of several children, the DOH maintained there was no solid proof to link the deaths to Dengvaxia.
Garin, a physician by profession, said “real experts should be given the voice to speak, not the self-proclaimed experts whose real advocacy seems to be anti-vaccine.”
“A single confirmed death attributable to a vaccine will cause the immediate pullout of a product. Are we not wondering why this scare is only in the Philippines? Anti-vaxxers are more vocal than real experts. Science should prevail because the health of many is of paramount importance. Protection is better than cure. The World Health Organization has repeatedly claimed, ‘Not a single death anywhere in the world has been attributed to Dengvaxia,’” she said.
During the controversy in which Dengvaxia was blamed for the deaths of vaccinees, Dengvaxia maker Sanofi Pasteur said the vaccine should be given only to those who have already had dengue as it may lead to adverse side effects on those who had not had dengue.
In an interview with CNN Philippines, Garin stressed Dengvaxia has been included by the WHO in its Essential Medicines List.
“We are not saying that government should buy it, but for parents who can afford and would like their children to be protected, they should be given an option to buy. For the pediatricians who would like their patients to be protected, they can be given the option to do so,” Garin said. “From a public health perspective, if the government will not buy it, at least make it available for the private sector, (for the) pediatricians and parents who want to protect their children.”
Garin further noted Sanofi’s findings showed there was only a “.003 or 001 percent increased risk for severe dengue and additional one day of hospitalization for those who got a Dengvaxia vaccine and are yet to be infected with dengue and no one died.”
“There is also a 90 percent reduction in deaths (due to dengue) and 83 percent reduction in severity. Hindi namamatay (They’re not dying). Mas malamang ang benefits (The benefits outweigh the risks),” she said
The Philippine Food and Drug Authority in 2019 permanently banned Dengvaxia and revoked its certificate of product registration.
The DOH upheld the ban which stemmed from Sanofi’s failure to submit post-approval requirements. The DOH ban said “the efficacy of the Dengvaxia itself is not in issue in this case” but concerns “Sanofi’s complete disregard of FDA regulations, which were precisely put in place by law to ensure safety.”
