Senate OKs P1.16-B aid for Dengvaxia vaccinees

The Senate approved on final reading on Wednesday a supplemental P1.16-billion budget to help school children who had been inoculated with the controversial dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia.

Malacañang had certified the bill as priority measure.

The bulk of the amount would be used for medical assistance for those who had been injected with Dengvaxia.

The vaccine courted controversy in 2017 after its French manufacturer, Sanofi Pasteur, said it could cause severe dengue symptoms in people who had not been exposed to the disease before.

More than 800,000 students were inoculated with Dengvaxia as part of a P3.5-billion mass immunization program during the Aquino administration. —Leila B. Salaverria

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