Duterte to create 3-man panel on Dengvaxia

President Rodrigo Duterte will create a 3-man panel of experts to identify whether the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia indeed caused deaths, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said the president is “constrained to seek further advice from disinterested parties” due to the conflicting testimonies of experts from the Philippine General Hospital and Public Attorney’s Office.

Roque stressed that no Westerners would be part of the panel as it would be composed of three Asian experts.

The Dengvaxia vaccine caused a controversy when its manufacturer, Sanofi Pasteur, in November last year announced that according to a study, those who did not suffer from Dengue fever prior to vaccination could develop more cases of severe disease.

The vaccine was also linked to the deaths of 65 Filipino schoolchildren who were administered with Dengvaxia through the Department of Health’s school-based vaccination program.

The content was written for Philippine Canadian Inquirer’s Daily News Round-Up, May 8, 2018 edition.