MALACAÑANG vowed Tuesday that President Rodrigo Duterte would go after those involved in the alleged onerous P3.35-billion procurement of the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.
“The President is awaiting results of the investigation. And he has promised that after [the] investigation has been or have been conducted both by the Senate and the Department of Justice—he will run after all individuals who may have criminal culpability for this,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said in a Palace news briefing.
At the Department of Education, Secretary Leonor Briones called for a “strong monitoring” of students administered with Dengvaxia.
Briones issued DepEd memorandum 199, series 2017, ordering the surveillance of students from both public and private schools who have been administered with Dengvaxia whether by private practitioners or through community-based vaccination.
Briones instructed school administrators and school medical personnel to review the master list of students who received the vaccination, regardless of the number of doses received.
The administrators and health personnel were tasked to identify these students and monitor them for any symptom.
The Departments of Education and Health, in cooperation with local government units, are strictly monitoring the condition of students who received the anti-dengue vaccine.
Roque said the President was standing by the recommendation of the DoH to hold Sanofi responsible.
“We want…a refund of what we have paid already for the Dengvaxia,” he added.
Roque also accused Sanofi of hiding material facts from the government when it decided to procure the vaccines for the government’s public health program.
Roque said “There was concealment of a material fact and that is that children who have not developed dengue may acquire the disease three to six years after the vaccination.
“That was not a known fact when government decided to embark on the vaccination program.”
DepEd said that even if the dengue vaccination program had been piloted in the National Capital Region, and Regions 3, 4A and 7, the memorandum also urged the other regions to monitor students who might have received the Dengvaxia.
In a statement, DepEd noted the parents and teachers’ involvement in facilitating the surveillance system was essential.
“They may help by reporting cases of vaccinated students with fever to the text line that DoH will set up. Health workers of rural health units [RHUs] shall act on these text reports,” DepEd said.
DepEd also reminded schools about the implementation of DepEd memorandum 152, series 2011 (Preventing Dengue in Schools), which requires schools to regularly conduct vector control.
Schools will also conduct forums about the vaccination program and the campaign against dengue.
“Parents are encouraged to participate in these forums,” DepEd said.
The government has allotted more than P3 billion for the purchase of Dengvaxia vaccines manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur.
However, on Nov. 30, Sanofi Pasteur released the result of its clinical study, indicating that Dengvaxia might cause harm to recipients who have not been infected by dengue prior to the vaccination.
The Department of Health has suspended the dengue vaccination program.
About 800,000 students were already administered with Dengvaxia, but not all of them had prior dengue infection. John Paolo Bencito with PNA
