Palace: Dengvaxia controversy contributed to vaccine hesitancy among Filipinos

Malacañang on Tuesday said the Dengvaxia controversy influenced the Filipinos’ attitude towards vaccination against COVID-19.

“Hindi po natin made-deny na mayroon pong influence iyan,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said at a press briefing.

Roque asked the public not to listen to “self-proclaimed experts,” adding vaccines approved by regulators and that are being used around the world are safe and effective.

“Wala pong dahilan para matakot tayo sa mga ganyang bakuna,” he said.

“Maging kritikal pagdating sa pagtanggap ng mga impormasyon tungkol sa mga bakuna. Bigyan ng tiwala po ang ating FDA [Food and Drug Administration].”

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Monday announced that his department will use a “massive” information campaign to encourage Filipinos to get vaccinated against COVID-19 after only 32% of Filipinos said they were willing to get the jab, according to the latest Pulse Asia survey.

The Dengvaxia controversy arose in November 2017 when manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur announced that the vaccine may lead to more severe symptoms of dengue for those who have never been infected by the virus prior to vaccination.

As a result, the Department of Health stopped the school-based dengue immunization program and proposed to President Rodrigo Duterte a panel of Asian health experts that will look into safety issues raised against the vaccine.

More than 100 parents have since blamed the deaths of their children to the dengue vaccine and filed criminal complaints against government officials responsible for the immunization program. Many of the cases are now in court, more are pending with prosecutors. — RSJ, GMA News