THE vaccine issue which had its beginnings in the previous administration continues to stir controversy today not only in connection with the national health program but also in the halls of Congress where two Congress members clashed early this week.
During the House of Representatives plenary session last Tuesday, Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza interpellated Rep. Bernadette Herrera Dy on the resurgence of polio in the country 19 years after the country was declared polio-free. He said the nation’s mothers had lost confidence in the government’s vaccination program, because of the Dengvaxia controversy and had thus kept their children from getting the usual vaccinations against polio, dengue, and other diseases.
He also cited the tetanus toxoid program of 1996 purportedly to protect women of child-bearing age from tetanus. The program, he said, was later found to be part of the government’s population control program.
Iloilo Rep Janette Garin, who was the secretary of health at the time of the Dengvaxia controversy, stood up to accuse Atienza of “spreading misinformation” that tetanus toxoid causes sterility. As for Dengvaxia, she vowed to resign if it is proved that it caused the death of children.
In his interpellation, Congressman Atienza asked: “Has anyone been made accountable for the abuse in the implementation of the Dengvaxia vaccination program which, until now, brings fear and doubts to parents?” He added: “The problem today is one of loss of credibility and confidence in women and mothers. Yun ang ating harapin.”
The Dengvaxia controversy of 2016 has never been fully resolved. Many vaccinated children died but responsibility has not been pinpointed. There is not enough evidence for the filing of a criminal case.
But we have the statement of Sanofi Pasteur, manufacturer of the vaccine, in November, 2017, months after the deaths, that the vaccine posed a risk to persons who had yet to encounter the virus prior to vaccination. If our officials had known this, they might not have ordered the mass vaccination of school children in three regions in 2016.
If only for that admission, all concerned – including officials of the previous administration – should accept some responsibility, instead of flaring up when officials like Congressman Atienza recall the Dengvaxia controversy and see it as the reason so many parents today have not had their children vaccinated against polio, dengue, and other diseases that are now being reported in various parts of the country.
