SANOFI Pasteur on Friday issued a statement that sought to explain further its position on its Dengvaxia vaccine, following a meeting by the World Health Organization (WHO) which recommended extra safety measures for the vaccine’s application.
According to a Reuters report, a two-day meeting in Geneva led in part by WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization has recommended that Sanofi’s vaccine be used after testing on individuals to assess whether they have ever been exposed to the infection.
Sanofi for its part said, “The new SAGE recommendation confirms the public health value of Dengvaxia and its potential to reduce the overall burden of dengue in high endemic populations.”
“For dengue-endemic countries that would like to use Dengvaxia as part of their integrated dengue control and prevention strategy, SAGE recommends as a preferred option pre-vaccination screening in which only previously dengue infected individuals are vaccinated,” Sanofi also said, adding:
“As will be made clear in forthcoming published documents from SAGE, current available sero-tests or Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) could be considered in high transmission settings until better tests are available. We maintain our efforts to develop a dengue RDT that can reliably assess prior dengue infection as an aid to vaccination.”
Also here on Friday, additional evidence supporting the Dengvaxia case against former president Benigno S.C. Aquino III were submitted to the Department of Justice.
In compliance with an order by DoJ prosecutors, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and the Vanguard of the Philippines Constitution, Inc. (VPCI) also submitted the addresses of the respondents in their complaint, including officials of Sanofi Pasteur, Inc. and Zuellig Pharma Corp.
The submitted documents include as well a certified true copy of stenographic notes from the March 13 joint public hearing of the Senate committees on Accountability of Public and Investigations (Blue Ribbon), on Health and Demography, and on Finance. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

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