30th Dengvaxia-related rap filed vs ex-DOH secretary Garin

Former DOH Secretary Janette P. Loreto-Garin. INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON

The Public Attorneys’ Office (PAO) has filed another criminal complaint against former Health Secretary Janette Garin and 38 others for the death of a 12-year old girl who was a recipient of the Dengvaxia vaccine.

In the complaint, Christopher and Ginalyn, parents of Kristel Jean Magtira filed a complaint for charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and violations of the Anti-Torture Act and Consumer Act before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The latest complaint has brought to 30 the number of cases filed by families of children whose death was allegedly due to the controversial dengue immunization program of the previous administration.

Aside from Garin, included in the complaint are several current and former health officials as well as the executives of Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur and distributor Zuellig Pharma.

Like in previous complaints, Garin and others were accused of negligence for their failure to obtain the consent and inform the Dengvaxia recipients and their parents or families of the dangers and risks related to the vaccine.

Kristel received three doses of the vaccine on April 5, 2016, Oct. 6, 2016 and June 28, 2017.

Based on the complaint, Kristel started having fever on Jan. 8, 2018. Her conditioned worsened when she started vomiting and eventually became comatose three days later. She died on Jan. 13, 2018. Based on her death certificate, the immediate cause of her death was the swelling and bleeding of her brain.

On Nov. 29, 2017, Sanofi has issued an advisory stating that “for those not previously infected by dengue virus, however, the analysis found that in the longer term, more cases of severe disease could occur following the vaccination upon a subsequent dengue infection.”

Kristel’s parents said their daughter was healthy and had not had any serious medical ailment before she was given the vaccine.

The DOJ, through a panel chaired by Assistant State Prosecutor Maria Emilia Victorio, has already completed preliminary investigation on the first batch of cases involving deaths of nine schoolchildren: Aejay Bautista, Angelica Pestilos, Lenard Baldonado, Zandro Colite, Abbie Hedia, Jansyn Bataan, Mark Axel Ebonia, Rey Justin Almagno and Alexander Jaime.

A separate panel chaired by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Susan Dacanay is currently conducting preliminary investigation on the second batch of cases involving eight victims: Clarissa Alcantara, Christine Mae De Guzman, Erico Leabres, Roshaine Cariño, Naomi Nimura, John Paul Rafael, Michael Tablate and Christine Joy Asuncion.

Also during the preliminary investigation Friday, Dr. Raymundo Lo, former head of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center has submitted his counter affidavit on another Dengvaxia-related complaint. /cbb