Doctors' group wants Dengvaxia ban lifted as Pinoys face 'high risk'

A group of physicians and medical experts has called on the Department of Health  to lift the ban on Sanofi Pasteur’s controversial dengue vaccine Dengvaxia, amid rising number of cases in the Philippines.

Doctors for Truth and Public Welfare (DPTW) issued the statement after Malacañang said the Duterte administration is open to allowing the use of the dengue vaccine again if experts agree to recommend it to combat the rising number of cases of the mosquito-borne disease in the country.

According to a report on Balitanghali on Thursday, DPTW co-convener Dr. Minguila Padilla called on the DOH to lift the ban, saying "[Dengvaxia] remains banned in the Philippines..., in the mean time, we have a national dengue alert."

The doctors' group added that Health Secretary Francisco Duque III's declaration of a National Dengue Alert last month "shows that the Philippines falls under the high-risk populations that the WHO (World Health Organization) recommends the anti-dengue vaccine to."

Also, the group expressed support for the WHO's decision to include Dengvaxia to its 2019 Essential Medicine List and List of Essential Diagnostics.

"Medicines included in the WHO list are those that satisfy the priority healthcare needs of the population –medications that people should have access to at all times, and in sufficient amounts," the group said.

According to its statement, DPTW is a group of physicians, scientists, esteemed members of the academe, former secretaries of health, and past and present of various professional medical association and NGOs. —Margaret Claire Layug/LBG, GMA News