Ex-DOH chief Ona: Garin’s ‘lack’ of experience exposed in Dengvaxia mess

Former Department of Health (DOH)  Secretary Enrique Ona on Tuesday said Janette Garin's "lack" of experience became apparent as the Dengvaxia mess unfolded.

Ona made the remark about his successor during an interview on ANC after he was asked whether or not he thought Garin lacked experience as a health official, compared to himself and incumbent Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.

"Pretty obvious... She's very experienced as a politician but the intricacies, as well as the subtleties of making fairly serious medical decisions became obvious, as I said, when this thing happened," Ona said.

The vaccination program had been under fire after pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur advised against giving Dengvaxia to patients who have not had dengue in the past as it might cause severe diseases in the long run.

On the DOH's decisions that greenlit the vaccination program, Ona said he doubted if Garin was able to review the existing literature on the drug's possible effects.

"I am not even sure whether she has reviewed or read the literature  because even when there was already an effort as early as 2016 o 2015 there were already numerous articles in the literature stating this," he said.

"And of course, you can always say, well I look at it all the way, and maybe that's how it happened," he added.

Garin has yet to comment on Ona's remarks as of posting time.

Ona and Garin are key former DOH officials tagged in the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on Dengvaxia's controversial procurement.

Garin was Health secretary when the vaccination program that targeted a million schoolchildren was launched.

Before the program was put on hold in December 2017, data from the DOH indicated that at least 830,000 public school students had been vaccinated with Dengvaxia in Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Metro Manila, and Cebu.

Garin has stood her ground that the program was conducted  in accordance with the proper guidelines and denied allegations that she gained profit from the purchase of the controversial dengue vaccine.

Ona has pinned the blame on the DOH under Garin's watch after she took over as Health Secretary, pointing out that it was under her tenure that French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur had requested for briefings on the status of the clinical study for the anti-dengue vaccine held "almost annually." — MDM, GMA News