SC told: Urge agencies to give medical care to kids given dengue vaccine

In this April 2016 photo, a nurse in the City of San Fernando in Pampanga province injects a student with Dengvaxia as part of a Department of Health program. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

The Supreme Court (SC) has been asked to compel government agencies to provide free medical services and treatment to children injected with the controversial anti-dengue Dengvaxia vaccine.

Militant group Gabriela, together with parents of children injected with the vaccine, filed a 42-page petition for mandamus on Friday against officials of the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

The petitioners said the government agencies should monitor children in all villages and regions who were injected with the vaccine.

The agencies should also provide free services including, but not limited to, medical check-ups, consultations, medical treatment and blood tests, the petitioners said.

“These free medical services shall continue until it would have been determined and declared by competent medical and/or scientific experts that the threat/s brought about by the Dengvaxia vaccine have been minimized or eliminated,” the petitioners said.

The petitioners also asked the SC to direct the DOH, DepEd and DILG to create a registry of children who were administered with the vaccine to facilitate the delivery of free healthcare services.

In a chance interview during the filing, Gabriela Rep. Emmi De Jesus said that granting the petition would assure parents that their children would have access to immediate health care.

“Magkaroon ng tiyak na pagkikilos. To compel these agencies na gawin ang responsibilities nila para sa mga batang magkakaroon ng kakaibang pakiramdam, kaugnay na bakuna,” De Jesus told reporters.

(Have clear and specific actions. To compel these agencies to do their responsibilities for the children who are experiencing health-related issued due to the vaccine.)

“The horrors and risks being posed right now by the vaccine, which has been haphazardly administered to around 800,000 children, should be enough for the justices to act with urgency on our petition,” she said. /je