By Charmaine A. Tadalan
BUDGET Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno moved to extend the proposed P1.16-billion supplemental appropriation for alleged Dengvaxia victims until December 2019.
“I’m afraid that if you approve that provision, the whole amount may not be exhausted, and therefore, we may have to appropriate the residual in the 2019 budget,” Mr. Diokno said on Wednesday in a meeting with the House Committee on Appropriations and the Department of Health (DoH).
“It would be more convenient if we just appropriate this money…to expire next year (on) December 2019,” he added.
The remark was made in reference to House Bill (HB) 7449, appropriating for the fiscal year 2018 the P1.16-billion refund from Sanofi Pasteur, covering the unused Dengvaxia vaccines.
HB 7449, introduced by House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez, House Majority Leader Rodolfo C. Fariñas and Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles, seeks to allocate the fund for assistance of Dengvaxia vaccines.
For its part, the Department of Health through its Dengvaxia Assistance Program, plans to allot P84 million for a medical assistance program for Dengvaxia patients, P776.25 million for outpatient care, P67.8 million for the deployment of nurses as Health Education and Promotion Officers, and P270 million for medical kits.
But Mr. Nograles, the committee chair, said, “I think you have to recast. You have to re-prioritize this.”
The lawmaker said profiling the children who received the vaccine should have been the primary focus instead of providing medical kits, which include only a thermometer, two bottles of multi-vitamins, and a mosquito repellent.
The profiling aims to help identify seronegative patients or children who had no history of dengue but were inoculated with the Dengvaxia Vaccine. Sanofi Pasteur disclosed in November 2017 seronegative children injected with the vaccine have higher risk of severe dengue three years after immunization.
“I’d rather deploy more doctors and nurses. I’d rather train more BHWs (barangay health workers) and teachers if these are school-based [vaccines] in order for them to actively and successfully profile at magbantay ng mga bata (and monitor children),” Mr. Nograles said.
The DoH will submit a revised budget program to the committee and is set to meet with the panel on May 22.

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