Gov’t immunization program remains reliable amid dengue vaccine snafu

Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Saturday said that the warning of the potential risk of the dengue vaccine "Dengvaxia" given to people who have not had dengue virus infection prior to receiving the shots should not diminish  public’s confidence in the government’s overall immunization program.

Government’s vaccination efforts, he said, have saved countless children's lives from vaccine-preventable diseases over the decades.

“Unang una, ang immunization program ng DOH ay talagang napaka-mahalaga ito sapagkat napatunayan na ng ilang dekada na ang bakuna ay talagang...nailiigtas ang mga bata, ang mga sanggol mula sa mga vaccine-preventable diseases,” he said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

He also assured parents worrying for their children’s health that the government will be “transparent” with its findings on the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia, one day after he suspended the DOH’s dengue vaccination program pending recommendation on further action from the World Health Organization (WHO).

“‘Di komo nagkaroon ng ganitong pangyayari ay mawalan sila ng kumpyansa sa pagiging epektibo ng pangkalahatang immunization program ng Department of Health. We will be very transparent, ipapaalam po natin ito sa lahat ng ating mga kababayan," he said.

Also, he said that the DOH is giving the problem due attention and is coordinating with scientists all over the world to address the situation.

On Thursday, French vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur announced that new clinical analysis has found out that Dengvaxia, the world’s first dengue vaccine, may potentially do more harm than good to individuals who have not had dengue prior to immunization.

This alarmed health experts, and parents whose children underwent the DOH’s school-based dengue vaccination program in regions III, IV-A, Metro Manila, and some parts of Cebu in 2016.

But Duque said that only “more or less 10 percent” of the more than 700,000 schoolchildren who received Dengvaxia shots may have reason to worry.

Despite this, the vaccine still offers a 30-month period of protection from the mosquito-borne infection, regardless of whether an individual has had dengue prior to vaccination, after which the DOH will be responsible for conducting a five-year post-immunization surveillance, said Duque.

He reiterated that the DOH’s commitment to strengthening its post-immunization surveillance and profiling efforts for the children who received Dengvaxia shots.

The DOH will also set up a hotline to answer questions from the general population and from health workers, he said.

A recommendation from the WHO is expected to be released next week. —LBG, GMA News