The Philippines government launched a probe into the immunization of more than 730,000 children who received Sanofi's dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, after the French drugmaker revealed it could worsen the disease in people not previously infected, Reuters reported.
Ruby Dizon, medical director at Sanofi Pasteur Philippines, told reporters that there were no reported deaths related to the dengue vaccination. Dizon was responding to a report by nongovernmental organization Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption which said three children, who were vaccinated in 2016, had already died.
The Philippines' Department of Justice ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to look into the potential criminal liability in the vaccine program which cost the government 3.5 billion Philippine pesos.
Dizon clarified that Dengvaxia does not cause "severe dengue," and advised the public to avoid spreading misinformation and panic, The Philippine Star noted. There had been no reported case of "severe dengue infection" following the vaccine program, said Harry Roque, a spokesman for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
Dengvaxia is the first-ever approved vaccine for dengue, a potentially deadly tropical disease transmitted through mosquito bites. Sanofi said results from a new six-year study showed that the vaccine provided "clear and sustained benefit" against dengue fever for those who have been previously exposed to the virus, while the vaccine posed an increased risk of hospitalization for dengue and severe dengue for those who have never been infected.
As of Dec. 1, US$1 was equivalent to 50.32 Philippine pesos.
