By Hannah L. Torregoza
Embattled former Health Secretary Jeanette L. Garin yesterday maintained that the procurement of P3.5-billion worth of Dengvaxia vaccines from French manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur is above board and is not a wanton decision of the Aquino administration.
Garin, appearing at the joint hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon and Health and Demography Committees, categorically denied any wrongdoing when she led the Department of Health in the purchase of Dengvaxia for the government’s national immunization program during President Benigno S. Aquino III’s term.
“I welcome this inquiry because as a former Secretary of Health, I share the pursuit of truth and transparency. Ang desisyon sa pagbili ng Dengvaxia ay resulta ng dekadang pag-aaral at pagplano ng DoH,” Garin told lawmakers at the hearing also attended by parents, doctors, health experts, and representatives from Sanofi.
“It is an institutional decision to a greater public health need and a result of our consultations with experts, advocates, and medical professionals,” Garin said.
She defended the DoH as a dedicated and professional organization motivated with nothing but the desire to address a severe public health burden that has become a perennial threat to the country.
But while she is willing to be investigated, Garin appealed to senators to allow Sanofi also to explain and account for any lapses on their part.
“Hindi lang naman Pilipinas ang nag-uusap when this was being done. It was a group of 11 countries na magkakasamang nagmi-meeting. Kung nagsinungaling nga ang Sanofi hindi lang po sa amin pati sa ibang bansa at sa WHO eh dapat naman pong talagang managot sila. Hindi lang po sila lang, madami pa po dapat,” Garin said.
“Maybe there were no change in the medical advisory – it’s not actually medical advisory…if Sanofi did not request a change in labeling, because that is what actually happened, the DoH organization will be heralded as heroes for addressing the dreaded dengue which for many years without specific cure,” Garin added.
“This is a situation where we all have to unite, look, at the bottom line of this, give it to the DoH because they are the authority and let Sanofi do the explaining. If they need to answer they really have to,” she said.
“If I need to answer, ‘yun po ay haharapin ko ng buong-buo kasi po yan po ang naging desisyon ng buong departamento. We’re always be here for any meeting,” Garin said.
Sanofi officials have warned that Dengvaxia may pose serious health risks to those who have been inoculated but have not had dengue before.
Thomas Triomphe, Sanofi Pasteur head for Asia-Pacific, attested to the vaccines’ safety and efficacy during the hearing.
Triomphe said that based on their internal probe, Sanofi is not at fault for the fiasco.
“We, at Sanofi Pasteur, assure each and every one of you that Dengvaxia is, and continues to be, a safe and efficacious vaccine. We affirm that, to this date, the Dengue vaccine offers, and has clearly been shown to offer, persistent protection against dengue infection, which is understandably beneficial to the Philippines, which has one of the highest dengue endemicity in the world with over 200,000 reported cases of dengue every year,” Triomphe said.
“We have not seen any fault or negligence on the part of the company,” Triomphe said, adding that Dengvaxia was a result of over 20 years of rigorous research and development involving clinical trials in more than 40,000 people in 25 studies across 15 countries.
According to Triomphe, Dengvaxia is used in 11 nations in the private and public markets and has been registered in 19 countries in Latin America and Asia.
“It has been able to provide sustained protection to over a million people all over the world. Even today, there has been no reported death linked to the vaccine,” he said.
Nevertheless, Triomphe said Sanofi is ready and willing to cooperate with the government’s inquiry.