DOH Says It Is Not Against Use Of Other Brands Of Dengue Vaccine In The Future

The Department of Health (DOH) is not totally closing the doors for the possibility of using other brands of dengue vaccine in the agency’s future immunization programs should they also be licensed in the country.

DOH Secretary Janette L. Garin said that while they are set to use the Dengvaxia vaccine of Sanofi Pasteur in the free dengue vaccination program that will be carried out in the next 20 months in pre-targeted areas, the government is not “locked” in using such vaccine alone as one of the strategies in the continuous fight versus dengue.

“If in four or five years’ time, there will be additional vaccines, that will be a good addition and a good competition in the market,” she said.

She also said that the DOH is not interested in fanning the looming word “war” between pharmaceutical companies looking to develop dengue vaccines.

“The DOH is a government institution. We don’t want to be locked in a quarrel among the industry players. It is a natural occurrence to have competition among them whenever a new vaccine is under development. We have decided, and it is our obligation, to shy away from industry-to-industry quarrel,” she stressed.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are approximately five additional dengue vaccine candidates that are already in clinical development, with those of Instituto Butantan (Brazil) and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company (Japan) expected to begin the Phase III trials in early 2016.

Secretary Garin said that what the DOH is concerned at present is to make sure that the vaccines will be made available to the public, especially to the vulnerable sectors who cannot afford the costs, in the immediate possible time that can be beneficial to them.

“Immunization is one good program that actually saves lives. What we only want is a program that is beneficial to our children,” the Health Chief explained.

Dengvaxia is the first dengue vaccine in the world. It was able to secure a license from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last December 2015.

The vaccine was a product of more than 20-year studies and research and passed the required clinical trials involving people aged nine to 45 years old.

The breakthrough for the first dengue vaccine in the world also involved many Filipino scientists and researchers.

Currently being given in some private clinics in the country, Dengvaxia is included in the DOH’s school-based immunization program for nine-year-old students in public elementary schools in three regions of the country starting on Monday.

Immunization of children is one of the programs of the DOH for the poorest sectors in the Philippine society as part of the government’s investment on the health of Filipino children, wherein they will be given the protection to be “immune” or fight the illnesses that can “obstruct” their continuous search for the road of “overcoming” the inter-generational cycle of poverty.

The DOH has partnered with the Department of Education (DedEd) and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in the conduct of the immunization activities which give protection to children from vaccine–preventable illnesses.

If children are receiving the immunization shots or vaccines for preventable illnesses, they will be able to attain holistic developments wherein they will not be sick and be absent from school and miss the learning that can enrich their knowledge which will give them a better “fighting chance” versus poverty.

Moreover, if children are healthy, the nation can be assured that its future citizens will be able to contribute to the economic development of the country because there is a saying that health itself is the country’s wealth as how can the country move forward if it has sickly population?

The immunization program, in effect, helps protect the children as well as the people around them wherein they will not be able to become the “source” for the spread of dengue.

This is because dengue can be transmitted from one person to another if a mosquito bites a person with dengue.

If the children are vaccinated versus dengue, chances of transmission is being reduced which therefore gives protection to others in the process.

Starting Monday, April 4, the DOH will be conducting mass dengue vaccination to nine-year-old Grade 4 students in public schools in Region III (Central Luzon), Region IV-A (Calabarzon), and National Capital Region (NCR).

In the NCR, the conduct of the immunization will be observed and covered by media practitioners in Parang Elementary School in Marikina City.

The immunization program is expected to lead to an estimated 24.2 percent reduction in dengue cases over a five-year time horizon.

Dengvaxia vaccine will be given in three separate doses at six months interval.

The vaccine was procured by the DOH at a discounted price from Sanofi Pasteur, meaning the said vaccine is a lot cheaper compared to the price that will be paid if parents will go to a private clinic to avail of it for their children.

Prior to the free dengue immunization, some preparations like orientations/trainings of healthworkers, teachers and other persons that will be involved in the conduct of the vaccination has been done since January.

On top of that, school administrators were also given with administrative orders as a reminder to them to ensure the proper conduct of the vaccination.

Parents’ consent was also secured through the Parents- Teachers Association meetings. Letters have also been sent ahead so that parents/children fully understand the reasons for the vaccination, the benefits and what are the possible side effects that may happen and how they can be given remedy and right actions to do in case that will occur.

School teachers were also asked to remind their students to eat before vaccination to avoid possible side effects.

The DOH said that just like any other vaccine given to children, some common side effects of Dengvaxia would be rashes, pain and swelling on injection site, fever, and headache.

Most parents who have experienced bringing their children to the health centers or clinics are aware of these common side effects.

The DOH also assured that medical societies who fully support the immunization program of the DOH as well as the WHO will be side by side with them in monitoring and ensuring that there will be proper, successful and safe conduct of the vaccination.

From Jan. 1 to Feb. 20, 2016, the DOH had recorded a total of 18,790 dengue cases nationwide.

Most of the cases were from Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) with 3,182 cases (16.9 percent); Central Luzon, 2,596 cases (13.8 percent); and NCR, 1,479 cases (7.9 percent).

Dengue virus is transmitted by female mosquito Aedes aegypti.

This disease has four serotypes, meaning, in a lifetime, a person may suffer up to four times the said disease because infection from one serotype does not make the person immune to the remaining three serotypes.

In analysis, it was shown that the dengue vaccine can prevent nine out of 10 severe dengue cases and eight out of 10 hospitalizations due to dengue in the targeted age group.

Of course, the still cheapest and costless way to fight dengue remains to be the “4S” — Search and Destroy; Seeking Early Consultation; Self-Protection measures; and Saying No to indiscriminate fogging. (PNA) SCS/LSJ/PJN