No dengvaxia vaccination in Region 8: DOH

TACLOBAN CITY, Dec. 29  -- The Department of Health has dismissed reports that a girl was hospitalized after receiving the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine in the region, saying the patient was immunized in Luzon.

DOH regional information officer John Paul Roca said on Friday the 12-year-old girl, one of the vaccine recipients reportedly admitted at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) after suffering dengue, was given Dengvaxia in Bulacan province.

Her family visited their hometown in Catbalogan City in Samar for the Christmas holidays.

“She was first admitted at the Samar Provincial Hospital then transferred to EVRMC, where she was monitored. Good thing that her blood platelet count became normal and was already discharged from the hospital,” Roca said on Friday.

The DOH maintained that no one received the controversial vaccine in the region based on monitoring both in state-run hospitals and privately-owned facilities.

The health department also reminded everyone that whether or not a person have been vaccinated by Dengvaxia, there is high possibility of suffering severe dengue once bitten by a dengue virus-carrier mosquito.

“A clean environment and in your homes are ways to prevent acquiring dengue,” he added.

Dengvaxia developed by Sanofi Pasteur, is a live recombinant tetravalent dengue vaccine, based on the yellow fever 17D vaccine strain, given as a three-dose series with six months between each dose.

The vaccine has four components, encoding for antigens of the four dengue virus strains. It is the first dengue vaccine to be licensed, according to the World Health Organization.

The vaccine became controversial after its manufacturer admitted that 10 percent of over 800,000 students who were immunized with Dengvaxia, but did not have a prior dengue infection, now face contracting a "severe disease."

The issue forced the DOH to halt its nationwide dengue immunization program and it was followed with investigations by the House of Representatives. (SQM/With reports from Mary Fatima T. Berongoy, OJT/PNA)