Dengvaxia not suited for outbreak response amid dengue epidemic —DOH exec

Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo on Wednesday said Dengvaxia mass vaccination is not a way to respond to an outbreak since it is only effective for people who were already previously infected by dengue.

In an interview on GMA News’ Unang Balita, Domingo clarified that Dengvaxia is not an appropriate response to solve the ongoing dengue epidemic in the country.

“Ang Dengvaxia hindi naman siya for outbreak response e. Naibibigay lamang siya sa mga batang nagka-dengue na dati,” Domigo said when asked if the declaration of the epidemic means a higher possibility of Dengvaxia’s return in the Department of Health's vaccination program.

The DOH on Tuesday declared a national dengue epidemic following the increasing number of dengue cases in the Philippines.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said 622 people have died due to dengue. A total of 146,062 cases, he said, have been recorded from January to July 20, which is 98% higher than the same period in 2018.

Malacañang earlier said it is open to the proposal of making the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine available again to the public if tests confirm its effectiveness against the disease.

Domingo said the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has already developed a product that can combat the dengue infection, a ‘tawa-tawa’ supplement.

He said the product passed the clinical trial 1 resulting to its approval to be registered as a food supplement.

The Health undersecretary added once the product passes clinical trials 2 and 3, “Maaari siyang ma-register bilang gamot talaga.” —Joviland Rita/KG, GMA News