SC to DOH: Answer petition on Dengvaxia fiasco

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday ordered the Department of Health (DOH) and several other agencies to answer a petition compeling them to address the repercussions of the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.

The high court particularly required DOH officials led by Secretary Francisco Duque III and heads of the departments of education and the interior and local government, as well as the Food and Drug Administration, to submit their comment on a petition filed by 70 mothers and their children who received the vaccine.

The agencies were given 10 days from receipt of notice to comply with the order.

The petition, filed on Dec. 22, is asking the SC to compel the agencies to provide free medical services and treatment for those who may suffer from severe dengue or any of the determined side effects of the vaccine. 

The petitioners also urged the high tribunal to direct the government to publicly disseminate, on a regular basis, the report of a DOH task force designated to monitor and review the school-based immunization program involving Dengvaxia.

The task force should submit the result of the review to the Senate and House of Representatives committees on health. 

The petitioners wanted the health officials to study and review the safety and efficacy of Dengvaxia.

The results of the study should be made public and subject to review by “independent and competent medical experts,” the petitioners said.

A registry containing the names of all children and other persons injected with the vaccine must be created by the DOH, in coordination with the departments of education and interior and local government, they added.

The DOH suspended the P3.5-billion dengue immunization project on Dec. 1, following advisory from French-based pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur.

The advisory said new clinical analysis showed the vaccine is effective for people who suffered dengue prior to immunization and cited a risk of a “severe” case of dengue for people who have not.

Over 830,000 children aged nine and above from public schools in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and Cebu have reportedly been vaccinated with Dengvaxia since it was launched in April 2016.   – With Mayen Jaymalin, Janvic Mateo, Ding Cervantes