Tarlac student suffers from severe dengue after receiving Dengvaxia shot

A student in Tarlac is suffering from severe dengue after she was immunized with the world's first dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia.

According to a report on Unang Balita on Thursday, while the student's condition was improving, she is still confined in a hospital in Pampanga.

The student had completed the three doses of Dengvaxia and had not been had dengue before.

Meanwhile, another student was hospitalized due to dengue in Talisay City. She also received Dengvaxia shots and had no previous history of dengue.

A Grade 5 student in Mariveles, Bataan was reported to have died of dengue in October last year .

The Dengvaxia manufacturer, Sanofi Pasteur, earlier said in a statement that there were no reported deaths related to the vaccine.

The French pharmaceutical company has advised against prescribing Dengvaxia to patients who have not had dengue in the past since it may cause severe diseases in the long run.

After six years of studying clinical data, Sanofi said it has found out that Dengvaxia was only beneficial in the prevention of dengue fever to those who have already suffered from the other serotypes of the virus.

The company, however, clarified that the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia "does not contain any viruses that can make people ill with dengue or severe dengue."

It said that a "subsequent exposure" to the virus will cause "severe dengue" which the firm said was not deadly.

The Department of Health has already put on hold the government's vaccination program after Sanofi raised health concerns on the vaccine, while the Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines ordered the suspension of the sale, distribution, and marketing of Dengvaxia.

In December 2015, the Philippines was the first Asian country to clear the dengue vaccine and approve its distribution within a month of clearing its use. —Marlly Rome Bondoc/KG, GMA News