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(Eagle News) – Malacanang said that it is weighing very carefully and considering the proposal to allow the use of the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine for those who already contracted dengue.
The proposal from some doctors’ groups and from former Health Secretary and now Iloilo Rep, Janet Garin comes amid a declared national dengue alert in the country and continuing rise in dengue cases.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that if Dengvaxia can help stem the growing number of dengue cases in the country, particularly for those who already had dengue so they would not get the disease again, then the vaccine’s use can be considered.
“I think the pharmaceutical itself said na iyon pala, kailangan iyon ginagamit lang doon sa mayroon nang dengue, nagkaroon na. But apparently, hindi nasabi nila iyon o hindi nalaman ng mga kumuha ng Dengvaxia sa previous administration kaya nagkaproblema. And then after that, nagkaroon ng subsequent deaths na inaakala na galing doon. But lumalabas sa mga experts, sinasabi nila na wala pang conclusive finding na iyong Dengvaxia caused the deaths of those people,” he said in a media briefing on Thursday, August 1.
“So kung iyon ang situation, if it’s true that Dengvaxia is effective only to those who have suffered dengue, ‘di puwede pala. Kailangan lang alam natin na iyong gagamit noon eh nagkaroon ng dengue, otherwise baka may problema. Hindi naman nga nila sinabi na mamamatay or magkakaroon lang ng komplikasyon siguro,” he said.
Panelo said that he would also study the situation. If Dengvaxia could help prevent those who had dengue to again contract the disease, then he himself would personally suggest to allow its use.
“Now iyong cause naman ng death, hindi pa rin natin alam kasi sinasabi hanggang ngayon eh hindi pa sure. So siguro, if it’s really necessary to use a vaccine that will stop the dengue spread, what we should do perhaps – and I would suggest that personally – ‘di ‘yung Dengvaxia gagamitin lang natin doon sa mga alam na nating nagkaroon ng dengue; kasi iyon ang sigurado eh, iyon ang totoong gamot – iyon ang sitwasyon.”
He stressed that this is only a suggestion as the current dengue situation necessitates finding more solutions to the problem.
The Philippine Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (PIDSR) showed that for Western Visayas alone, the number of dengue cases exceeded the epidemic threshold in the period of January 1 to June 15 this year.
So far this year, the number of deaths due to dengue has reached 381. Dengue cases has reached 87,144.
“Hindi ba sabi nila na spread ng dengue grabe na naman. We need a vaccine for that. So kung walang—kailangan maghanap talaga tayo ng vaccine. Pero kung wala pa at alam naman natin iyong Dengvaxia puwede doon sa mga dati nang may dengue at wala tayong naririnig na hindi… o eh ‘di why don’t we try it. Iko-consider lang natin, we have to make a stand. As I said earlier, it needs/requires a serious study before we can use it,” Panelo explained.
The Doctors for Truth and Public Welfare (DTPW) led by former Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral has called on the Department of Health to lift the ban on the controversial anti-dengue vaccine.
The group said that the World Health Organization (WHO) has already included Dengvaxia in its updated Essential Medicines List and List of Essential Diagnostics.
“Well, kung galing mismo kay Dra. Cabral, whom I know personally na talagang competent, eh siguro pakinggan natin iyong mga sinasabi ng mga doktor. What is important is we stop the spread of dengue, and we need to find a solution to that,” Panelo noted.
(With a report from Vic Somintac, Eagle News Service)
