Rody wants forensic experts

President Duterte has instructed the Department of Health (DOH) to look for three forensic experts from Asian countries that have implemented Dengvaxia vaccination either in public or private settings.

In a telephone interview, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said three experts have already signed on to participate until the new directive from the President came in last Friday.

“We are forming a panel of experts based on this directive. We are making adjustments,” he added.

However, only the Philippines used Dengvaxia in a mass vaccination program in Asia, according to DOH Undersecretary Eric Domingo.

“The President wants an all-Asian panel and that’s the challenge now because there are no other countries in the region that adopted Dengvaxia in a public program,” he told The STAR.

In Asia, Dengvaxia was used in private practice in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Brazil also used Dengvaxia for public vaccination, but it was on a much more limited coverage.

In the Philippines, Dengvaxia was administered to at least 830,000 Grade 4 students in public schools, aside from those in private health facilities and among members of the Philippine National Police.

Sanofi not yet off the hook

Duque has also reiterated his assurance that Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur is not yet off the hook as the Office of the Solicitor General remains in the process of building up a case against the company.

“Their lawyers are working on this. They are not scientists but many sciences are involved here so they are really studying this very thoroughly,” he said.

He believes that the output of the foreign expert panel will further strengthen their case against Sanofi.

Duque also said that the DOH remains firm in its stand that Sanofi should return almost P2 billion that the government paid for the used Dengvaxia vaccines.

The health chief was considering to sue Sanofi for violating its contract with the DOH and the Civil Code for selling “defective” products to the DOH.