The Dengue Vaccination Program of the Department of Health (DOH) is now in the spotlight of the media during the past months after the French-based pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur issued a statement that after doing some clinical tests, they found out that those who were vaccinated with Dengvaxia that has not been diagnosed of dengue before may suffer from severe dengue and other similar types of illnesses. This triggered the Philippine Government to investigate and conduct legislative hearings in aid of legislation to see whether the previous administration was involved in this flaw upon recommending and implementing the first-ever dengue vaccination program in Asia.
According to former DOH Secretary and Iloilo Representative Janette Garin, they did several clinical trials in the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to check the efficacy of Dengvaxia. And because it has been successful, the department then implemented the vaccination program to selected schools in the country. At this time, I understand the government in deciding to conduct the said program since that it was reported in these years the increase in number of young children who died due to dengue. This prompted the Aquino administration and Garin's leadership in the DOH to vaccinate school children with Dengvaxia. As the saying goes by, prevention is better than cure.
Data showing the significant rise of dengue cases in 2015 which prompted the Philippine government to use Dengvaxia. Photo courtesy of CNN Philippines.
\With the current situation faced by the former cabinet officials and incumbent DOH officials who were responsible in this mess, who should be blamed for? Is there someone we must pinpoint as the mastermind in this disaster and murder to our school children who were the victims of the vaccine?
In my own point of view, I must conclude that the pharmaceutical firm Sanofi Pasteur is the only one to be blamed for all of this things related to the Dengvaxia vaccination program. Why?
1. They fooled the government when they said it was SAFE - and yet, it was only safe for those who have been diagnosed with dengue;
2. They sold to us the vaccines amounting to billions of pesos to the Philippine government as they assured DOH that it is indeed SAFE;
3. They have just conducted another series of clinical tests to the vaccine after they sold it to the government. If they have already assured the Aquino administration and the DOH that it was safe and it is effective, then why do some tests? Why do they sell the vaccines if they are not yet sure of its full capability to prevent dengue from happening to children?
Sanofi Pasteur made that horrible mistake. It's not the Philippine Government nor the DOH because they were just told by Sanofi that it was indeed effective without clarifying that it is only for those who suffered from the disease. In fact, they are one of the VICTIMS here.
But because of dirty politics here in our country, people who must not be persecuted are being grilled in legislative hearings.
It was also a bad shot for DOH since it has saw a great impact on the Dengvaxia issue after some proven and clinically tested vaccines have been decreasing to schools. I could even attest this after our school together with DOH engaged our female students to take for 3 months Ferrous Sulfate+Folic Acid every week to prevent anemia and have an enough blood supply in their bodies especially during menstruations. Out of 12 who have agreed, only 4 of them took the vitamins.
Our school based Weekly Iron Folic Acid (WIFA) Supplementation which started last week.
Out of 12 students who have secured their parental consents, only 4 of them took the vitamins due to the Dengvaxia issue as flashed in news and online. This has been the effect of PAO Forensic Team's assessment to children who allegedly died due to the complications from taking the vaccine.
This has been actually triggered due to forensic results from the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) showing that recent young children who had been dying were due to blood hemorrhage in the brain and to other internal organs due to Dengvaxia. They reported that 14 students died due to complications arising after they had been vaccinated. But just recently, the University of the Philippines - Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) released a statement and findings that only 4 out of the 14 cases were verified to have been died due to brain hemorrhage and from severe dengue due to Dengvaxia. At this juncture, UP-PGH and the DOH orders the PAO Forensic Team to stop doing forensic examinations to the bodies of those who allegedly died due to Dengvaxia and better leave it to them as experts in the field of medicine.
So as an educator, a blogger, and from these findings, I strongly believe that Sanofi Pasteur should be held liable to this mess and the previous adminstration must be cleared of the charges filed against them. The DOJ must also adhere to the order made by the UP-PGH in these cases because they really know better than them.
To everyone, let us not be scared of some other related vaccination programs and projects of the DOH as Dengvaxia has not been really the cause of the children's death after the implementation of the dengue vaccination program. Let us not deprive them of the opportunity to be given with medical services because they deserve no less from our government and from our country in general.
Official statement released by the Dengue Vaccine Institute (DVI) after the Philippines approved the use of Dengvaxia. Based on this statement, Mexico has been the first country to approve the use of Dengvaxia yet there have been no cases of deaths in the country related to the vaccine.
The World Health Organization (WHO's position in the use of Dengvaxia. It states here that they recommend it to those highly endemic areas which includes the Philippines. Photo taken from WHO website.
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