The Senate inquiry into the controversial dengue vaccine for which the government realigned P3.5 billion in late-2015 will have at least three priorities, according to the chairman of the Blue Ribbon—one of two panels conducting the hearing on Monday.
First, Sen. Richard J. Gordon said, is the “welfare of the so-called zero-negative” children, or those who had no prior exposure to dengue when they received their first dose in 2016.
Sanofi Pasteur, manufacturer of the vaccine Dengvaxia, had recently created a worldwide scare when it disclosed to French regulators that further assessment of its clinical studies had shown that while Dengvaxia had effectively prevented new infections among those who had prior bouts with dengue, the ones who never had infections when they were vaccinated are now at risk of “serious disease.”
Gordon said he hoped the inquiry would right away produce timely, effective interventions by health authorities to identify and safeguard the schoolchildren who fall in the class of zero negative. Meaning, they are closely monitored and quickly treated and financially supported if they fall ill.
The second priority of the inquiry, which Gordon’s panel will hold jointly with the Committee on Health chaired by Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito, would be to trace “how we got to this [mess],” Gordon said. He indicated that he would draw attention to the timeline he produced from an earlier inquiry he called right, in the thick of the then-Aquino administration’s efforts to fast-track the dengue-vaccine program, as this would show the red flags in terms of timing and accountability.
He lamented how “we were ignored then because Sanofi was advertising strongly on radio, TV… until they were ordered to stop.” He said many people called him out also for saying that rushing an unproven vaccine without awaiting final advice from global disease experts was tantamount to making “guinea pigs of Filipinos.”
Gordon temporarily shelved the inquiry, as it was just weeks before the May 9, 2016, elections, but did not close it.
A third priority of the joint Senate inquiry this time around would be, according to Gordon, finding out what Dr. Paulyn Jean B. Ubial—the Duterte-era health secretary whom Congress rejected at confirmation hearings—knew. He recalled that “she was reluctant” to talk about the vaccination program when her confirmation was pending, and word had gotten to them that she was being pressured by some House of Representatives members who were close to her predecessor, Dr. Janette L. Garin.
Garin, whose sister Sharon holds the powerful post of deputy speaker, was at the center of the Aquino administration efforts to rush the vaccination program, including it in the school-based immunization programs even if billions had to be realigned by then-Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad for the purpose, as the dengue vaccine was not provided for in the 2015 General Appropriations Act.
Gordon recalled that Ubial had objected initially to pursuing the Dengvaxia program—it had to be given in three doses—but later gave clearance, adding that Ubial also had to answer some questions, as she might be liable for still pursuing it.
Gordon asked in Filipino, “So, the question is, who were pressuring her—friends and colleagues of Garin, or her relatives in Congress?”