By Ben R. Rosario
A joint panel of the House of Representatives has concluded that Dengvaxia is ineffective as an anti-dengue vaccine but will proceed with caution in determining its safety following the contradicting forensic claims of government agencies on dengue deaths.
Reps. Johnny Ty Pimentel (PDP-Laban, Surigao del Norte) and Helen Tan (NPC, Quezon), chairpersons of the House Committees on Good Government and on Health, respectively, said medical experts from the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital and the Public Attorney’s Office will have to be vetted to determine issues of conflict of interest before considering their respective forensic findings on the anti-dengue vaccine’s safety.
Pimentel and Tan vowed to closely look into accusations that Dengvaxia had caused deaths of several persons who had been injected with the Sanofi-Pasteur product, stressing that possible conflicts of interest among witnesses will have to be ferreted out during the legislative inquiry.
The two administration solons disclosed that medical experts who conducted the recent autopsy of 29 bodies of persons vaccinated with Dengvaxia will be summoned in the next hearing tentatively set on Feb. 26.
According to them, the contradicting claims on the cause of deaths of the vaccinated youths made by the PAO and the UP-PGH will have to be thoroughly examined.
The two House panels are ready to hold hearings in executive sessions should the UP-PGH team insist on maintaining the confidentiality of their identities.
Also to be invited are former President Benigno S. Aquino III and former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad who both played major roles in the government’s decision to pursue the P3.5-billion anti-dengue vaccination program using the Dengvaxia vaccine.
“We can deduct already that there was a failure of the efficacy of the Dengvaxia. Supposedly this is an anti-dengue medication, pero may namatay pa rin because of dengue,” said Pimentel.