By
Teofilo Garcia, Jr
December
6, 2017
ZAMBOANGA
CITY--The City Health Office said that not a single child had been immunized
with dengvaxia, the first vaccine to be licensed globally for the prevention of
dengue.
Dr.
Rodelin Agbulos, City Health Officer, on Wednesday said there was no delivery
of Dengvaxia vaccine in this city.
Dr.
Agbulos said the Department of Health (DOH) initially planned to deliver the
vaccine when dengue cases soared in this city, but it did not push through. She
did not elaborate.
Dengvaxia,
manufactured by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, has been granted marketing
authorization in 2015 by Mexico, making it the first vaccine to be licensed in
the world for dengue prevention.
However,
the DOH has suspended the dengue vaccination program after it was reported that
Dengvaxia has dangerous side effect.
The
DOH reported that 733,713 children from three regions in Luzon had been
vaccinated with Dengvaxia under the agency’s school-based immunization program
launched in 2016. (PNA)
