The Department of Education (DepEd) vowed on Saturday to work closely with the Department of Health (DOH) in monitoring the thousands of students who have been administered with the anti-dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia.
鈥淎s the health and safety of our learners are of principal importance, the [DepEd], in close coordination with the [DOH], will monitor the condition of learners who have been administered with the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia,鈥� the DepEd said in a statement.
鈥淎s a stakeholder, DepEd will likewise be actively participating in the review and consultations of DOH on the dengue vaccination program,鈥� it added.
The DOH has recently suspended its P3.5-billion anti-dengue immunization drive after pharmaceutical giant, Sanofi Pasteur, admitted that its vaccine, Dengvaxia, could lead to more severe symptoms for people who had not previously been infected.
The agency said more than 733,000 public schoolchildren 9 years old and above in three highly endemic regions鈥擬etro Manila, Central Luzon and Calabarzon鈥攈ave received at least the first of three doses of the first licensed dengue vaccine.
The botched program has drawn huge criticism from the public and government officials alike. In a Facebook post, former DOH undersecretary Dr. Susan Mercado said the program was the 鈥渂iggest government-funded clinical-trial-masked-as-a-public-health-program scam of an experimental drug in the history of the DOH.鈥�
Several senators have called for an investigation into the issue to hold officials accountable for the mess.
RELATED STORIES
Citing risks, DOH stops P3.5-B dengue vaccine drive
Botched dengue immunization program angers parents, worries experts