(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, Aug. 8, said he was open to using Dengvaxia again, amid a national dengue epidemic declared by the Department of Health.
“I’m open in the use of Dengavxia again. Maraming patay na, it’s an epidemic,” Duterte said.
The Department of Health has said it would decide in a few weeks whether the vaccine would be used anew.
In recent public pronouncements though, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III appeared to reject Dengvaxia to fight dengue, saying it should be local government units that would tap their resources for this.
“The protection of Dengvaxia, although low at 60 percent on the average, is not that reassuring because it’s not a high reassuring rate. Magpaturok ka man, almost 40 ang may dengue,” Duque had said in an interview in Tacloban.
Duterte said he would wait for the advice of experts before deciding, though.
“And we have enough bright people here to tell us. I do not need foreigners to tell me, my own Filipino scientists and doctors would tell me what to do,” he said.
