By Camille A. Aguinaldo

MEDICAL EXPERTS on Tuesday allayed the fears of parents whose children received the Dengvaxia vaccine, saying there was no need to panic over the reported dengue-related deaths of vaccinated children.

“There is no basis to panic. Based on our calculations and the results of the clinical trials in general, (the vaccine) is safe because many children at that age would be seropositive. But our problem is there is a 10% to 20% or maybe 30% that they are seronegative,” infectious disease expert Mary Ann Lansang said at the resumption of the Senate hearing on the controversial anti-dengue program.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a seropositive individual has had a previous dengue infection while a seronegative individual has not had a previous dengue infection.

Ms. Lansang also pointed out that the final results from the dengue investigative task force have yet to be released as to whether the reported deaths were caused by the vaccine itself or a wild type of dengue.

For her part, Dr. Juliet Sio-Aguilar of the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) said, “There is no need (to panic). Because of the many children who were injected with Dengvaxia, normal diseases will occur with or without Dengvaxia.”

Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III testified that he has received reports from the Central Luzon Region that the coverage of the Health department’s immunization program has declined from 87% in 2017 to 57% in 2018 because parents refused to have their children vaccinated.

Parents in Davao City also declined from having their children take other vaccines, Mr. Duque noted.

“We see now very serious implications of this and I think this is fanned unnecessarily by the hysterics that seem to come from certain quarters. This is not fair,” he said.

“It behooves upon us to band together and only allow information that is evidence-based and truly scientific based. So this is very important and I appeal to everyone especially those whom we occasionally see on TV,” he added.

Mr. Duque also told senators that Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre would have the forensic experts of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) probe the issue this time.

Health advocate Anthony C. Leachon said parents were alarmed on the anti-dengue vaccine because there was a lack of “urgent justice.”

“Then the trust in the vaccination program of the DoH and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) can only be regained if there’s urgent justice, there’s indemnification,” he said.

In an interview with reporters, Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito, who chairs the committee on health, appealed to medical experts to band together in order to ease concerns of parents over the vaccine.

“We have to address anxiety and the worries of the parents,” he said.

The DoH has suspended its anti-dengue immunization program following the analysis of Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur that the vaccine may pose health risks for those vaccinated without having dengue.

Initial findings by the UP-PGH revealed that two of the 14 cases of dengue deaths may be due to vaccine failure. However, the expert panel stressed that they need further studies to validate their results.

Also at the hearing, the Senate blue ribbon committee, chaired by Senator Richard J. Gordon is set to issue a subpoena to Public Attorney’s Office chief Persida V. Rueda-Acosta and PAO’s forensic consultant Erwin P. Erfe after failing to attend anew the legislative inquiry into the Dengvaxia controversy.

The hearing will resume on Feb. 21.

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