Philippines weighs re-use of controversial dengue vaccine

MANILA, Aug 2 (Reuters) - The Philippines is considering
re-introducing a dengue vaccine whose use it halted because of
links to the deaths of several children, as authorities battle
to contain a dengue outbreak that has killed more than 450
people this year.
Concerns over dengue immunization for nearly 734,000
children aged nine or older sparked two congressional inquiries,
a criminal investigation and a sharp fall in the number of
parents seeking routine vaccinations for their children.
If the government decided to revive the use of Dengvaxia,
developed by French drugmaker Sanofi SASY.PA , it would be
administered with "utmost caution", presidential spokesman
Salvador Panelo said.
"If Dengvaxia is proven effective to those who already had
dengue in the past, then its application to these individuals
will surely cause the decline of the overall number of cases,"
he told reporters.
The Philippines stopped using Dengvaxia in late 2017 and
ordered Sanofi to stop selling, distributing and marketing it
after Sanofi warned the vaccine could worsen the disease in some
cases.
In March, the Department of Justice said it had found
probable cause to indict Sanofi officials, and former and
current Philippine health officials, over 10 deaths it said were
linked to the use of Dengvaxia, which Sanofi has repeatedly said
is safe and effective.
Panelo said the government would follow a protocol set by
the World Health Organization for all individuals to be screened
before receiving the vaccine, to determine if they have ever
been exposed to the infection.
Any decision to start administering the vaccine again would
not affect cases against individuals involved in the
controversy, he added.
This year, the Philippines has reported more than 100,000
cases of dengue, a mosquito-borne tropical disease that kills
about 20,000 people annually and infects hundreds of millions.