HEALTH Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said on Friday, Dec. 8, will seek indemnification from French pharmaceutical company Sanofi in the wake of its controversial disclosure on a dengue vaccine not recommended for those inoculated who had no prior infection.

The vaccine, Dengvaxia, had already been administered on 830,000 youths, the Department of Health (DoH) noted in its statement on Friday which also quoted Mr. Duque.

“We will demand the refund of the PhP 3.5 billion paid for the Dengvaxia, and that Sanofi set up an indemnification fund to cover the hospitalization and medical treatment for all children who might have severe dengue,” Mr. Duque said.

The health chief had earlier said the government plans to sue Sanofi following the suspension of its vaccine program.

On Friday, he also confirmed that a 12-year-old student in Tarlac province had suffered from severe dengue after she was injected with Dengvaxia. “(L)uckily, after some time, the child has recovered and thank God she has recovered after having been managed quite effectively,” Mr. Duque said.

He also said the department has established a task force that “will conduct a thorough review of the dengue vaccination initiative which started in March 2016 and the new evidence on safety provided by Sanofi.” Legal action on the French company is among the tasks assigned to that group, Mr. Duque said.

For her part, former health secretary Janette L. Garin clarified on Friday that the government had been in search for solutions to tackle the dengue problem since 2010.

The health secretary at the time was her predecessor, Enrique T. Ona.

“(By) 2014, I think June or July, Secretary Ona already announced na magkakaroon ng bakuna ng dengue sa 2015,” Ms. Garin told the ABS-CBN News Channel in an exclusive interview.

She also said she had many questions herself about the controversy, in spite of which Brazil, she noted, is continuing its dengue program with Sanofi.

SENATE HEARING
On Monday, the Senate blue-ribbon committee will hold a joint public hearing with the committee on health and demography, according to Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito.

“Nagpatawag si Senator (Richard J.) Gordon (Senate blue ribbon committee chairman) na i-resume ang hearing on Monday, this time joint with health (and demography committee),” Mr. Ejercito, chair of the Senate committee on health and demography, said in an interview with DWIZ on Friday.

Mr. Gordon first initiated the Senate probe on the vaccine program last year. “Walang report ang blue ribbon noon (The blue ribbon committee did not have a report on the investigation. Wala pa, di pa tapos yun (None, it’s not over yet),” Mr. Ejercito said.

Mr. Ejercito said the “most crucial part of the hearing on Monday will be the timeline of events.”

“Titingnan natin yung FDA (Food and Drug Authority) kung kalian na-aprub, kung kailan yung procurement (We will check when the FDA approved the vaccine and when the supplies were procured),” Mr. Ejercito said.

The Senator also said that some medical experts, past and present DoH officials Ms. Garin, and Sanofi officials are among those invited to the hearing. — Arjay L. Balinbin, Minde Nyl R. Dela Cruz, and interaksyon.com

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