EDITORIAL - Urgent solution

There is a suggestion to reintroduce the controversial anti-dengue drug Dengvaxia in the wake of the growing concerns over the skyrocketing number of cases of the disease that has already reached epidemic proportions.

A Philstar.com report yesterday said the Department of Health will decide next week on whether or not to allow the return of Dengvaxia to the local market as the government is now scrambling for measures against the disease.

However, as the country is currently experiencing a national dengue epidemic, the Dengvaxia vaccine will not be useful because it will not help stop the present problem, according to the health department.

DOH spokesman Eric Domingo told CNN Philippines that Dengvaxia “could probably be useful for epidemics in the future. ‘Yung mga nagkasakit ngayon babakunahan natin sila para hindi na sila magkaroon in the future. For an outbreak right now, hindi siya useful kasi hindi naman natin ngayon puwedeng bakunahan ‘yung mga batang hindi pa nagkaka-dengue ngayon kasi hindi naman natin alam na nagka-dengue sila before.”

To be clear, Dengvaxia is a vaccine and those who are vaccinated have a high chance of not getting dengue in the future. Therefore, scrambling to reintroduce it to the local market won’t really help arrest the current problem.

Dengvaxia became controversial following reports of several deaths among children who succumbed to complications allegedly caused by the dengue vaccine. In fact, Sanofi Pasteur, the French manufacturer of the drug, admitted that Dengvaxia poses serious risks to people without prior dengue infection.

Pending a conclusive result of investigation into Dengvaxia’s alleged serious risk, health authorities and the government should think twice before deciding to open the gates for the vaccine’s reintroduction in the country.

What we really needs is an immediate solution to the dengue epidemic now gripping the country. Since any vaccine will only help in the future, taking the necessary steps such as cleaning up the surroundings to avoid infection is an urgent solution to the present problem.