Filtered By: Topstories
News

Garin: PAO muddling Dengvaxia probe, not helping gov’t and public


Former Health Secretary Janette Garin on Tuesday said that instead of helping the government and the public, the Public Attorney's Office is muddling the investigation on the Dengvaxia issue, resulting to panic and hysteria.

"Nagugulo po ang imbestigasyon at instead of helping the government and the population, hysteria at panic ang nangyayari," Garin said in an interview on Unang Balita.

The former Department of Health chief was asked whether PAO was dishonest after it was found that the results of autopsies it did on children who received the dengue vaccine and eventually died allegedly due to dengue differed from the results of examinations done by experts from the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital.

According to the UP-PGH panel, three of the 14 Dengvaxia-related cases exhibited “causal association”—  two of them suspected to be caused by “vaccine failure.” Dr. Juliet Sio-Aguilar, head of the expert panel, explained that according to the World Health Organization, causality assessment “will or will not prove or disprove an association.”

"So ang kawawa po rito, taumbayan pa rin," Garin said.

As a result of PAO's muddling of the issue, the public has been wary of the DOH's health programs.

"Maraming hindi nagpapabakuna. 'Yun ngang iba, hindi na nagpapapurga. 'Yung pagpapakilo ng mga bata para sa ating nutrition program, ang dami na ring natatakot," she added.

Garin reiterated that there are no conclusive findings yet that the deaths of those who received the Dengvaxia vaccine and died allegedly due to dengue can be linked to the said vaccine.

"Hindi po. December 22, 2017 nag-release po ng interim report 'yung World Health Organization. At ang sabi nila, wala pang namamatay o wala mang severe shock or severe bleeding sa mga nabakunahan sa buong mundo. So hindi po namin alam kung... Ang mahirap kasi, hindi naman po 'yan 'yung proseso ng pag-determine ng causality," she said, referring to PAO's autopsies.

Garin said in determining the causal link there should be a lot of tests done. "Una, testing ng dugo. Titingnan 'yung course in the wards. Ang kailangan kasi du'n kung i-e-establish mo dahil sa bakuna, you  have two populations. 'Yung nabakuanahan, hindi nabakunahan. At meron bang prevalance ng ganitong mga sakit," she said.

The former Health official also said the National Adverse Effects Following Immunization Committee also has to look at each of the cases and talk to several specialists.

"Kaya ang hirap ng ganitong sitwasyon na 'yung trabaho ng DOH ay kinukuha at ginagawa ng ibang departamento," Garin said, referring to PAO.

She added that the symptoms seen in the victims' bodies examined by PAO could also be caused by other illnesses.

"Ang katanungan kasi doon, 'yung sintomas ba 'yon ay sa dengue lang kung dengue ang hinahanap natin? Kasi marami pong pasyente. Kunyari ay nag-sepsis, makikita mo rin 'yon. Or palagay natin may matinding impeksyon. Or pagpalagay natin na nag-arrest ... so mamamaga rin ang kanyang internal organs," Garin said.

She said what should be established first is if the dengue virus was detected in the patient. This could be isolated and tested, she added.

"So, 'pag nakitang may dengue, titignan mo: Nagka-dengue ba siya dahil 'yung bakuna ay nawalan ng bisa or talagang nagka-dengue siya at wala pa siyang proteksyon?" Garin said.

The former DOH official urged PAO to work with the government instead.

"Ang nakakalungkot po kasi, gumagalaw nang mag-isa 'yung PAO at hindi naman po 'yan mandate nila. Baka naman po pwedeng magkaisa ang gobyerno at lahat ng ahensya para naman po hindi nalilinlang 'yung tao," she said when asked to comment on PAO's findings that 18 of those who died received Dengvaxia shots during her term.

Garin added that she would rather wait for the WHO's results set to be released in April 2018 instead of saying now that Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur deceived the government about the vaccine's safety.

Asked to comment about allegations that Filipino children were made guinea pigs for Dengvaxia, Garin said: "Hindi. Iba po 'yung trial, iba naman po 'yung ating subnational public program."

She also reiterated that the deaths were not due to Dengvaxia. 

"Sa personal ko pong pananaw, hindi. Kasi nakikita mo naman na wala silang dengue at 'yung mga merong dengue ay dapat pong tingnan 'yung causality," she said.

"At the end of the day, sino po ang kawawa dito? Who will lose? Ang taongbayan. One year, two years from now, magkakaroon tayo ng outbreaks and epidemics, ayaw nating mangyari ito," Garin added. —KG, GMA News

LOADING CONTENT