MANILA -- A group of parents, whose children were vaccinated with the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia, called on President Rodrigo Duterte to sit down and have a dialogue with them regarding the matter.
"Kailangan namin ang boses niya para magkaisa ang government agencies -- Department of Health (DOH), Department of the Interior and Local Government -- para mabigyang lunas kung ano ang kailangan naming gawin (We need his voice to unite government agencies such as DOH, DILG to address what we really should do)," said Elvie Ligeralde, representative of National Federation of Dengvaxia Vaccinee Organization.
Ligeralde said it is an opportune time for President Duterte to speak up on the issue on the vaccine.
"Since last year, after Sanofi Pasteur (manufacturer of Dengvaxia) announced of the adverse effects (of the vaccine) and we haven't heard anything from him. It is so sad that DOH and Public Attorney's Office have different opinions on it," she said during a dialogue on Monday with DOH-Calabarzon Regional Director Eduardo Janairo in Quezon City.
She said their concerns and questions are still unanswered, such as the possible connection between the deaths of children and the inoculation with Dengvaxia when it was rolled out in 2016 in three selected regions in the country.
Based on the monitoring of DOH Calabarzon, there were a total of 46 deaths recorded among Dengvaxia recipients since 2016.
However, Dr. Evamarie Torio, Calabarzon medical officer, pointed out that all deaths, even the non-related ones, are listed in their monitoring.
Torio said some examples of the deaths were coincidental and cannot be directly connected to Dengvaxia such as snake bites, pneumonia, diptheria, sepsis, and congenital disorders, among others.
"It so happened that they were all vaccinated with the vaccine. All forms of deaths are included in the monitoring list regardless of the reason," she said.
Earlier, the DOH has submitted a list of Asian pathologists, who will study the safety issue concern on Dengvaxia, to Malacañang. (PNA)
