MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday said that it is considering a change in existing protocols on adverse events following immunizations (AEFI) among children who have been injected with Dengvaxia dengue vaccine.
“There will be modification or revision of the AEFI protocols because, in fact, for the ordinary vaccines, the AEFI period (usually) covers only for 30 days,” said DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III in a press conference at the UST Hospital in Manila.
Since the monitoring of any possible adverse reaction among those immunized by Dengvaxia will manifest longer or up to five years, Duque said it is necessary that the monitoring of adverse events should be tailored fit to it.
“But this time, it is going to be beyond 30 days. It will be five years because we need to assess and monitor whatever adverse reactions are manifested on student vaccinees from the time the immunization was done which was on April 2016,” he said.
He said that since the Dengvaxia is still a new vaccine, there is a need to remain vigilant for that period.
“We have to watch out because, remember, this a new vaccine. There has been no experience at a sub national level or anything like this (before). So this is a class of its own. So, since it is a new vaccine, sky is the limit when it comes to possibilities,” the DOH chief said.
Under plan, the DOH will form a technical working group (TWG) which will study the recommendations given by experts from World Health Organization (WHO) led by Scott Halstead, a world-renowned expert on dengue.
“We have a TWG. We just have to reflect upon the recommendations of the WHO-arranged meeting with the technical panel,” Duque said.
The recommendations were given after the experts were brought to the country to assist the local specialists in the country and DOH program managers to develop and improve the protocols for Dengvaxia AEFI.
The experts stayed for five days and assisted in identification of fatal and non fatal adverse events which will aid better and more precise surveillance system.
Some of the initial clinical management recommendations pertain on staying alert of other symptoms of dengue because dengue manifests in many different ways, the WHO dengue experts said.