(Eagle News) — The Department of Health on Wednesday, May 8, welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to tap the expertise of a three-man panel of Asian experts in order to look into Dengvaxia safety concerns.
“We welcome the policy statement of the President to invite foreign experts from neighboring (Association of Southeast Asian) countries. This is a directive that must be respected and fully complied with,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a statement.
Duterte made the decision following the conflicting findings between the reports of the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital and the Public Attorneys Office, which both conducted autopsies on individuals who died after they were administered Dengvaxia.
PAO has said there were deaths linked to the drug manufactured by Sanofi-Pasteur, but the DOH said this was still inconclusive.
PAO has filed obstruction charges against the DOH.
Over 800,000 schoolchildren were administered the vaccine under the vaccination program which started during then-President Benigno Aquino III’s term.
