Dengvaxia case: 150 nurses deployed

DENGVAXIA PRIORITY LANE- Nurses at the San Lazaro hospital in Manila accomodate around 50-100 children who have been vaccinated with Dangvaxia per day for check ups whether they have contracted Dengue-related illnesses or not.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

An initial 150 nurses will be deployed to Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Metro Manila and Central Visayas to monitor the condition of children who had been inoculated with the controversial antidengue Dengvaxia vaccine.

“Our total deployment is actually 500 nurses,” said Health Undersecretary Rolando Enrique Domingo. “(Health Secretary Francisco Duque III) has approved an initial 150 nurses for the four regions.”

The remaining 350 nurses would be deployed once Congress approves the Department of Health (DOH) request to use the P1.16 billion that Dengvaxia maker Sanofi Pasteur refunded the government.

Over 837,000 school children received the controversial vaccine, which was used in the government’s antidengue immunization program from April 2016 to December 2017.

So far, the DOH said 65 recipients of the vaccine died after inoculation.

Of the 65 deaths, 13 were due to severe dengue infections while the 52 others died of other causes.

The DOH had already spent over P22 million in medical assistance for 3,281 children. —With reports from Starlene Portillo and Yvinn Borondia