Dengvaxia ‘scare’
WHEN I first wrote about the Dengvaxia issue days ago, I suggested that we wait for additional information to flow before commenting on it. That I think was the best way to go considering the polarized setup the country is in now. Issues get politicized notably by traditional politicians (trapos) who are now in power. Health is such a sensitive issue its handling should not be left to trapos alone.
Sanofi Pasteur, the manufacturer of the anti-dengue vaccine that the government bought for P3.5 billion, had announced earlier that persons vaccinated with Dengvaxia could develop a severe case of dengue if they have not been infected with the illness before and subsequently get an infection. The Department of Health (DOH) had by then vaccinated more than 700,000 people mostly students.
The reaction, notably by politicians and some so-called health experts who are Dengvaxia critics, was swift. With only that single news item, they went around town engaging in the blame game and in the process scaring the public. Since the usual suspects as far as the current administration is concerned is the previous administration, politicians pounced on former president Noynoy Aquino and the DOH secretary in his time, Janette Garin. So-called health experts joined the blame game by shouting in chorus, “we told you so!”
Among the amusing reactions: proDuterte bloggers accusing the Aquino administration of committing “genocide” as if they knew the meaning of the term. Then you have Sen. Richard Gordon who pounced on the issue after weeks of silence when Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV accused him of plunder in the use of Red Cross funds. Following reports of Aquino and Garin meeting with Sanofi Pasteur officials, Gordon came up with insinuations about “conspiracy” and obviously, cor r upt i on.
It got to the point wherein the feeling that those vaccinated would be falling or dying one by one was fostered. Truly, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, more so if that knowledge is being used to advance political goals.
Days after, the noise has died down and, with more information, it has gotten clear that the Dengvaxia is not as worse as some sectors would want us to believe. One, Dengvaxia does not cause dengue, the virus does. Two, the risk of “severe” infection in people previously uninfected with dengue and given the vaccine and then got infected is only about two in 1,000 and they recovered with treatment. Three, Dengvaxia remains effective as a vaccine for those previously infected with dengue and were vaccinated.
Interestingly, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chaired by Gordon opened its hearings on the Dengvaxia issue yesterday with no less than Aquino attending as a “resource person.” Earlier, he said one of his purposes in going to the hearing was to answer insinuations, among them by Gordon, being thrown at him (the insinuation, if we are to be frank about it, is that Aquino got commission from the deal). There was no hesitation in Aquino’s answer and Gordon had to backtrack after staring at the truth in the face.
The Dengvaxia issue has once again shown us what is wrong with our pol i t i cs.