VIGAN CITY — As many as 15 children may have died due to Dengvaxia, based on the findings of an expert panel formed to look into the deaths of those who were inoculated with the dengue vaccine, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
Health Undersecretary Rolando Enrique Domingo said that of the 62 cases reviewed by the joint Dengue Immunization Task Force of the DOH and the Philippine General Hospital, 15 deaths could be linked to Dengvaxia as these occurred within six months after the vaccine was given to the children.
Domingo said the deaths may have been due to vaccine “failure” or “caused by severe dengue.” Of the 15 deaths, only one was found to be “consistent with causal association to immunization,” he added.
‘Indeterminate’ deaths
The DOH classified the 14 other deaths as “indeterminate,” either because there was “insufficient evidence to confirm vaccine-related death” or the “factors present are inconsistent with causal association to immunization.”
Still, Domingo said further tests were needed since the joint task force’s findings remained inconclusive. That is why, he said, they needed the cooperation of the victims’ families.
“We want to get in touch with the families to allow us to do some more tests. But the situation now is still quite sensitive. We’re hoping that when the situation gets a little better, we can cooperate with other government agencies,” he said.
Of the 47 other cases reviewed by the panel, the deaths of 37 children were considered “coincidental” to their being Dengvaxia recipients.
Within 6 months
Domingo pointed out that if these children had any adverse reaction to the vaccine, it should have occurred within six months after they were inoculated.
The 10 other cases were either “unclassifiable” or had no available case record.
Based on DOH data, a total of 891,295 children received at least a dose of Dengvaxia during the agency’s mass vaccination program in Central Luzon, Calabarzon and the National Capital Region.
As of Sept. 14, the DOH said 7,764 of the children inoculated with the vaccine had been admitted for various illnesses, including 3,415 for dengue.
The remaining 4,349 were hospitalized for such cases as viral infection, urinary tract infection, pneumonia, acute diarrhea or acute tonsillopharyngitis.