Former Health Secretary Janette Garin chats with current Health Secretary Francisco Duque III during the hearing on the Dengvaxia mess at the House of Representatives on Monday, Feb. 5, 2018. (Photo by NOY MORCOSO / INQUIRER.net)
Former Health Secretary Janette Garin welcomes the the civil case filed against her and Sanofi Pasteur officials over the alleged death of a child who was vaccinated with Dengvaxia.
Garin said the complaint would serve as a platform to clear her name.
“I welcome the case. It’s a good forum for me and for the others accused – and wrongly-accused – to air our side,” she told reporters on Monday.
Garin, who spearheaded the implementation of the P3 billion vaccination drive in 2016, also maintained her earlier stance that their decision was done in good faith.
“Sa lahat po nangyayayari, isa lang po yung pinanghahawakan ko: Yung pagsasalita ng katotohanan – yung nag-desisyon kami base sa burden ng dengue that time,” she said.
[In all that happened, I only have one thing on my side: That I’m telling the truth – we made a decision based on the burden that dengue presented at that time.]
“The desire to save lives, the desire to be of service – hindi po yung nasa gobyerno ka nakaupo ka lang hindi nagtatrabaho. Yan po ang ginawa namin at paninindigan ko yun,” she added.
[The desire to save lives, the desire to be of service – not just being in government and sitting there without doing your job. That’s what we did and I stand by it.]
Earlier, the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) said it sued Garin and Sanofi representatives after its own forensic examination bared that a 10-year-old child, who had no history of dengue, died after receiving the vaccine.
READ: Sanofi, gov‘t officials in Dengvaxia mess sued for P4.1M in damages
The dengue immunization program was suspended in November 2017 by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III after Sanofi Pasteur bared that Dengvaxia could worsen symptoms of the disease for people who had not previously been infected by the virus.
But Duque, during the Monday’s House hearing, said further studies should be conducted before the Department of Health (DOH) could conclude that the reported deaths of children were caused by Dengvaxia.