The Dengvaxia Scandal - PART 2

Akala ko serious ito.

Walang imik ang CBCP?

Here are snippets from the Esquire (PHL) article:

They saw it coming. Back in October 2016, clinical epidemiologists Antonio and Leonila Dans released a Facebook video cautioning the public against taking a vaccine against dengue called Dengvaxia. Their video explained that, while Dengvaxia was beneficial for seropositives (people who had previously been infected by dengue), it could cause seronegatives (people who had never had the disease) to contract severe dengue. They cited a September 2015 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which said that 16 out of 10,000 children experienced severe dengue three years after receiving Dengvaxia.

Severe dengue is caused by something called Antibody Dependence Enhancement (ADE). The person who gets his first dengue develops antibodies against the disease, and this is what causes the person to experience severe symptoms the second time he gets infected. The third and fourth infections are usually benign.

Dr. Tony Dans explained that when administered to seronegatives, Dengvaxia acts like a first infection, priming the body to develop severe dengue once the person is bitten by an actual mosquito.​ “The dengue vaccine is very different from other vaccines,” he says. “[With] most vaccines, you give it before children get infected. This is a vaccine (Dengvaxia) which is unsafe for such children. This is a vaccine you want to give children who already have an infection. So the requirement is unique.” Given this, Dans believes that all patients should be tested for previous dengue infections before receiving the vaccine, and that the DOH shouldn’t have mass-distributed the Dengvaxia without administering tests.

In April 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that Dengvaxia be administered only in countries where seroprevalence (or the number of people who have had dengue) was greater than 70%. The DOH (under PNoy) made their decision based on studies made in Cebu and in Laguna, which are small studies & cannot be generalized for the whole country. In these two areas, the dengue prevalence was 90%.

The Formulary Executive Council (FEC) recommended detailed studies on the prevalence of seropositivity, which wasn't done. They said, ‘Yes you can buy the vaccine, but there are several conditions, one of them being doing a detailed study on seroprevalence. It was done in very limited, small communities.

Dans believes that the DOH should have waited for the final results of the six-year Asian study, which came out in November 2017.

The cases of severe dengue that might arise after vaccination, you don’t see them right after vaccination. You see them years after. They should have follow-ups up up six years because that's when you begin to see the adverse event.

Dans believes that at its core, the Dengvaxia controversy is an ethical issue. “You can debate the science, you can debate the policies. But there’s one thing that cannot be debated: that it should be the parents' decision on whether that drug should be given to their child or not, and that should be an informed decision. They should have been warned there’s a possibility that this would happen because it did happen. I don’t think there’s any disagreement there. They should have been told. It’s unethical that these children were vaccinated without proper information on the potential risk. I think even Edsel [Salvaña] agrees to that.” Dr. Dans said “You know the big problem about ADE is that while it begins from the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth year, it doesn’t end there. It can happen all the way until you’re very old. If you’re vaccinated at nine years old, your severe dengue could occur when you’re 50." (More details here: https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/this-epidemiologist-has-been-calling-out-the-doh-on-dengvaxia-since-2016-a00225-20171215-lfrm2)

The following is from: http://www.manilatimes.net/loose-talk-dengvaxia-sereno-rappler/377552/

I cannot imagine myself being in this man's shoes, getting so worried about what could happen to his daughter after she was vaccinated with the deadly Dengvaxia. I saw what the father of 3 girls did to Dr. Larry Nassar, who sexually assaulted them. He lunged at the doctor as if he was ready to end the man's life. I can understand how he felt. The parents of the children in Pinas who died because of Dengvaxia are still so calm & respectful to the people they suspect are responsible for their children's death. That guy who lunged at Nassar at his trial was not. Na-rape lang yung mga anak niya -- buhay pa sila. Pero itong sa Pinas, ilan na ang mga batang namamatay dahil sa Dengvaxia. Baka makalusot pa ang mga responsable because it is hard to prove that Dengvaxia caused the children's death. Di man lang minumura si BoySiSi, Sanofi, Abad at si Garin ng mga magulang ng bata. Ang babait talaga ng Pinoy. Maunawain, mapagpatawad, at mapagkumbaba pa. Parang wala akong nakikitang galit sa kanila inspite of what happened to their kids. God please bless these poor people. Awang-awa ako sa kanila.

SOURCES:

1. SALUDO, R., CATHERINE S. VALENTE, T., Times, T., Times, T., Times, T., Times, T., & Times, T. (2018). Loose talk on Dengvaxia, Sereno and Rappler - The Manila Times Online. The Manila Times Online. Retrieved 2 February 2018, from http://www.manilatimes.net/loose-talk-dengvaxia-sereno-rappler/377552/