Department of Health Undersecretary Dr. Rolando
Enrique Domingo, right, gestures besides Philippine General Hospital Director
Dr. Gerardo Legaspi, during a press conference at the Department of Health
office in Manila,...
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MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Sanofi Pasteur official
said Monday that the French drugmaker couldn’t comply with the
Philippines’ request for a refund of dengue vaccines injected on hundreds of
thousands of children because it would imply that the drug is ineffective.
Thomas Triomphe, Sanofi Pasteur’s Asia-Pacific chief,
told a House of Representatives hearing that it’s clear in “absolute terms”
that the Philippines would reduce dengue infections more by using the company’s
Dengvaxia vaccine than by halting its use.
“Dengvaxia is an effective product,” Triomphe told
lawmakers. “Reimbursing doses that have been already injected, where the
benefits of protection have been provided, will, de facto, imply that the
vaccine is ineffective, which is not the case.”
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has said that
Sanofi Pasteur has agreed to take back huge stocks of unused Dengvaxia and pay
back more than a billion pesos ($20 million) to the Philippine government.
The government, however, has also asked Sanofi Pasteur
to refund payment of nearly 2 billion pesos ($40 million) for Dengvaxia already
used in its massive anti-dengue immunization program, which was halted last
year, health officials said.
The Philippine government halted its massive
immunization drive last year after Sanofi said a study showed the vaccine may
increase the risks of severe dengue infection. More than 830,000 children were
injected with the Dengvaxia vaccine under the campaign, which was launched in
2016 under then-President Benigno Aquino III. The campaign continued under his
successor, Rodrigo Duterte, until it was stopped last year.
On Friday, Philippine health officials said the deaths
of three of 14 children injected with a Sanofi Pasteur dengue vaccine may have
“causal association” to the inoculation, including two who may have died
because the vaccine failed. They said, however, that they need to carry out
further studies to confirm their findings.
Investigators found no evidence that the rest of the
14 deaths were related to the vaccine. Officials said the deaths of at least 15
other children injected with Dengvaxia would be investigated.
Triomphe welcomed the government examination on the 14
children, which he said did not turn up any clear evidence linking their deaths
to Dengvaxia.
Philippine health officials have said that publicity
of concerns raised over Dengvaxia has caused the number of children receiving
preventive vaccinations for other diseases to drop.
About 200,000 dengue infections are recorded by the
health department each year, officials said. Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral
infection found in tropical countries worldwide. It is a flu-like disease that
can cause joint pain, nausea, vomiting and a rash, and can cause breathing
problems, hemorrhaging and organ failure in severe cases.
JIM GOMEZ, Photo ; Aaron Favila, The Associated Press
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