Health department forms dengue vaccine task force

December 8, 2017

The Department of Health (DOH) Friday formed a task force for all concerns related to Dengvaxia, the controversial dengue vaccine which has been ordered pulled out of the market.

In a statement, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said top officials of the DOH central office, and of the affected regions, along with attached agencies Food and Drug Administration, PhilHealth, and the National Children’s Hospital shall monito and attend concerns.

“This Task Force will conduct a thorough review of the dengue vaccination initiative, which started in March 2016, and the new evidence on safety provided by Sanofi," said Duque.

"This shall guide the Department of Health in responding to the safety concerns relevant to the use of this vaccine and how to proceed with the dengue program to ensure safeguards and prevent similar incidents in the future,” he said.

The task force's main duty, Duque said, is heightened surveillance and monitoring activities on all 830,000 students vaccinated with Dengvaxia.

The health department said it will be hiring 30 additional surveillance officers to be sent to its hospitals in the four regions, where these anti-dengue vaccination activities were done.

“We will be deploying them immediately for active surveillance and data collection in these hospitals. Surveillance will be done for five years. This is part of our commitment to the parents and children who were immunized with the anti-dengue vaccines,” Duque said.

The task force will also have a legal team that will look into the accountability of Sanofi Pasteur, the manufacturer of the dengue vaccine, said Duque.

Duque said PhilHealth is ready to cover expenses of any child who may be hospitalized for severe dengue.

He noted that PhilHealth’s dengue case rate can cover up to P16,000 for severe dengue, which includes hospital and physician fees.

“We will continue to be vigilant in monitoring our children for any adverse event following immunization, and will strengthen the readiness of our public hospitals in attending to any severe dengue cases that may occur,” said Duque. DMS