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The government should consider lifting the ban on an anti-dengue vaccine to manage the rising cases of the disease in the country, a vaccine expert said Monday

Rontgene Solante said Monday it is time the government reviewed the use of the Dengvaxia vaccine as a “preventive measure” in managing the rising cases of Dengue.

“If we look at Dengvaxia this vaccine has been licensed with other countries, like Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia,” Solante, who is also a member of the Vaccine Expert Panel, said in the ''Laging Handa'' briefing.

“Here in the Philippines where dengue is really high, we don’t have this kind of preventive measure. So, I think, it’s high time that, if in case, the government should consider having Dengvaxia, they should review the data, should review the benefit of this vaccine, which is the prevention of hospitalization and prevention of severe dengue,” he added.

In 2019, the Department of Health rejected the appeal of Sanofi Pasteur, Inc., the manufacturer of Dengvaxia, to overturn the Food and Drug Administration's decision to ban the vaccine, after persons injected with it reportedly experienced adverse effects in 2010.

Solante said the Philippines was one of the countries with the highest number of dengue cases in Asia, citing data from DOH.

The DOH said Monday dengue cases from January to June reached 64, 797, which is 90 percent higher from the same period in 2021.

There should be proper guidelines on the usage of Dengvaxia so the public could understand that it is intended for people who are at a high risk of getting dengue or high risk of hospitalization, he said.

Solante said the vaccine is essential in containing the virus “which could also be epidemic in proportion.”

“What’s important here is that there is a proper recommendation of and proper indications on when we will use (the Dengvaxia vaccine) and on which age group so it would be clear and be used without hesitations,” Solante said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS