GORDON CAUTIONS PUBLIC TO FOCUS ON REAL ISSUES SURROUNDING DENGVAXIA MESS

Senator Richard J. Gordon has cautioned the public to focus on the real issues and the accountabilities of the personalities who pushed for the procurement and roll out of the nouvelle vaccine which was still half-baked at that time.

Gordon urged the people not to be swayed by public Relations (PR) tactics employed by French manufacturer Sanofi Pasteurs of provoking arguments between doctors and government agencies to sway attention from their own liability. "Focus on the criminals who made Dengvaxia happen here, criminals in procurement, those who are conflicted. The fight is against the criminals. Ang dapat alamin, paano ba nangyari ito? Namili sila ng hindi kailangan. They engaged in mass vaccination when it was not ready yet. They stampeded everybody to approve it," the chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee stressed.

"This big corporation has so much money that they can manipulate issues. They managed to flip it kaya ang nag-aaway na doctors against doctors, agency against agency. Sanofi's PR people have managed to make it a fight between doctors. That is not the fight we are talking about. I caution everybody to focus on the investigation and punish the right people," he added. Gordon assured that while the Blue Ribbon Committee remains four-square in seeking accountability from top to bottom, the health of the people, mostly children, who were administered with the vaccine is still paramount.

"Cases should be filed against officials who, in manipulating the procurement and rollout of the vaccine, may have violated laws and rules. For example, based on the Certificate of Product Registration issued by the Food and Drug Administration, Dengvaxia is a prescription drug, yet it was used on a mass vaccination scale, without prior consultation with and prescription from a doctor," the senator said.

"Likewise, we are also ensuring that the government, particularly the Department of Health (DOH), provides prompt and necessary medical assistance to the people inoculated, in the event that they develop adverse side effects. We need to calm the people down. This Dengvaxia controversy has caused parents panic, serious anxiety and mental anguish, even sleepless nights. The issue has put a bad name to vaccination, triggering a vaccine scare. The DOH should allay this fear and restore public trust and confidence in the government's public health programs.