By REY G. PANALIGAN
Department of Justice (DoJ) Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said yesterday he will order an investigation into the P3.5 billion purchase of the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia which was reported to have posed health risks to children.
Aguirre said he will tap the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a fact-finding probe to look into the liabilities of officials behind the dengue vaccine project that was approved during the previous administration.
“I will prepare immediately the appropriate department order. Everybody who has some involvement will be included and appropriate charges will be filed against them if warranted,” he vowed in a text message.
Reports stated that the imported vaccine has been used in a program involving more than 733,000 public school pupils aged nine and above in the National Capital Region, Region III, and Region IV-A, areas reportedly endemic for dengue.
Aguirre said he has personally received a number of complaints from parents of children injected with the Dengvaxia vaccine by health officers.
“One complained to me that his son who was inoculated of that anti-dengue vaccine in April 2016 is now sick of ‘baby tb’ and his immune system is now very weak and has become a financial burden to them,” he said.
Initial reports received by the DoJ showed that dengue vaccination program was approved by the previous administration despite strong objections from medical experts for lack of certification from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The reports stated that the DoH was properly warned about the possible effects of the first dengue vaccine to those who have not contracted dengue yet, but it still approved the program.
The DoJ was also informed that the DoH did not conduct tests to determine if those immunized since 2015 have had history of dengue.
The Senate’s committee on health chaired by Sen. JV Ejercito has announced plans to conduct an inquiry into the dengue immunization.
Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo has asked a probe by the House of Representatives into the “dengue vaccine that has put at risk the health and lives of thousands of Filipino children.”
The controversy over the Dengvaxia vaccine broke out after its manufacturer, Sanofi Pasteur, came out with an advisory stating that the vaccine is effective for people who have had dengue prior to immunization, but citing a risk of a “severe” case of dengue for people who have not.
DoH Secretary Francisco Duque III has ordered the suspension of the dengue vaccination program pending recommendation on further action from WHO experts.