Palace: Nothing to worry about other DOH vaccination programs

December 17, 2017

Malacanang said that there was nothing to be alarmed about other vaccination programs of the Department of Health following the controversy over Dengvaxia vaccine.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said in a radio interview on Sunday that there was no problem with the other vaccination programs, such as for measles and polio.

"There was no announcement from them and on the other vaccines," he said when asked if the public should be concerned also with the other vaccination programs.

He said the government is focused right now on Dengvaxia since Sanofi Pasteur, the manufacturer of the anti-dengue vaccine, was the one that announced about the possible negative effect of the vaccine to the recepients but have not yet been infected by the dengue virus.

Andanar said someone should be held responsible for the mess as some government employees also received Dengvaxia vaccine.

"What is important here is someone should be held accountable because those 800,000 plus who received the vaccine was not a joke," he said.

After Sanofi admitted last month that Dengvaxia could cause more severe cases of dengue, parents whose children received the vaccine through the DOH program, which was launched during the previous administration, have raised concern.

The Congress and the Executive are now conducting separate investigations on the issue. Ella Dionisio/DMS