SC urged to compel gov’t to address dangers allegedly posed by Dengvaxia vaccine

Women’s and children’s groups led by Gabriela party-list asked the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday to compel the government to address the health risks attributed to the controversial anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.

The petitioners, including 70 mothers and their children administered with the vaccine, said government agencies must be required 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.

“These free medical services shall continue until it would have been determined and declared by competent and medical and/or scientific experts that the threat/s brought about by the Dengvaxia vaccine have been minimized or eliminated,” the petition stated.

READ: Women’s and children’s groups led by Gabriela party-list ask the Supreme Court to compel the government to address the health risks attributed to the controversial anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/Aq3hfSoy0H

— Virgil Lopez (@virgillopez) December 22, 2017

They also called on the SC to direct the government to publicly disseminate, on a regular basis, the report of the Department of Health Task Force designated to monitor and review the school-based immunization program involving Dengvaxia and submit the same to the Senate and House of Representatives committees on health.

The petitioners also want the DOH to conduct further study and review on the safety and efficacy of Dengvaxia, results of which should be made available to the public and subject to review by “independent and competent medical experts.”

A registry containing the names of all children or any other person who were injected with the vaccine must also be created by the DOH, in coordination with the Department of Education and Department of the Interior and Local Government, according to the petitioners.

“The registry shall include an information on whether the person had been exposed to dengue infection prior to vaccination,” the petition read.

Named respondents in the petition were Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Education Secretary Leonor Briones, Department of the Interior and Local Government officer-in-charge Catalino Cuy, Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, program director of the Department of Health-National Center for Disease Prevention and Control and Food and Drug Administration Director General Nela Charade Puno.

“There are reports that the DOH will provide monetary compensation to those who were inoculated with Dengvaxia. However, petitioners maintain their position that monetary rewards are not enough to compensate for the injury brought to them by this medical scandal,” the petition stated.

“What is important for them is that they be ensured immediate and free medical attention and services in their medical needs that are attributable to the Dengvaxia vaccine,” it added.

The DOH stopped the government’s dengue immunization program last December 1 following the admission of vaccine maker Sanofi Pasteur that Dengvaxia's use must be strictly limited due to evidence it can worsen the disease in people who have not previously been exposed to dengue.

According to the DOH, more than 830,000 children — aged 9 and above — from public schools in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Cebu were vaccinated with Dengvaxia since it was launched in April 2016.

Following the suspension, the DOH said it would evaluate the dengue vaccination program and is now working in close coordination with the Department of Education to monitor the thousands of students who have been administered with Dengvaxia, the world’s first dengue vaccine. — RSJ, GMA News