DOH to convene independent expert panel for Dengvaxia review

FILE – Health Sec. Francisco Duque III with a dengue vaccine card at the Senate probe into Dengvaxia, the dengue vaccine procured and used for an immunization program during the Aquino administration. INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON

The Department of Health (DOH) has announced that it would convene an independent dengue expert panel to review the latest evidence on the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine.

DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III, in a statement on Tuesday, said the latest findings of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the anti-dengue vaccine prompted the review.

The review would cover Sanofi Pasteur’s five-year observation period in clinical trials as well as data from the surveillance of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the DOH Epidemiology Bureau, Duque said.

WHO’s latest findings confirmed Sanofi Pasteur’s statement that Dengvaxia-administered persons with no prior dengue infection could be at “higher risk of more severe dengue and hospitalizations,” the DOH chief said.

“This risk persisted about five years after the first dose,” he said.

At the same time, the DOH announced it tapped the Philippine General Hospital to review the medical charts of Dengvaxia-injected children who have suffered a serious disease or died to see whether they are linked to the vaccine.

Duque called on health personnel in the Dengvaxia review to cooperate with investigating bodies such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) and both houses of Congress.

“We leave it to the appropriate courts to conduct their own independent investigation and to determine whether all the legal requirements were satisfactorily met in the purchase of the Dengvaxia vaccine,” the DOH chief said.

“For now, the DOH is heavily immersed in efforts to attend to public concerns on the dengue vaccine and determine the proper course of action to take in managing the over-all situation. We shall also put in place the necessary measures to ensure the observance of proper procedures in the introduction of new vaccines into our public health programs,” he said.

The DOH would submit all documents requested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on December 27, according to Duque.