Vaccine Program Regains Public Trust
The Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) are starting to restore public confidence in the government’s vaccination program, which took a huge blow due to the Dengvaxia vaccine scare.
Senator Richard Gordon, who is also the PRC chairman, noted this assessment after the sustained efforts by Red Cross and the DOH to reach out and educate the masses about vaccines.
Gordon said reports showed that 9,394 children have been vaccinated from February 16 to March 5 through the community-based vaccination program, which the Red Cross coordinated with the DOH.
“I am glad that through our efforts, both the DoH and the Red Cross, we are narrowing down the vaccination gap, which was made wider by the debacle of the Dengvaxia vaccine,” he said.
Accountability and Consequences
While the public is gradually restoring their belief in vaccines, re-electionist Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito echoed Gordon’s call for the inclusion of former President Aquino and ex-Budget Secretary Florencio Abad in the P3.5 million Dengvaxia scam.
According to Ejercito, there was a malversation in the procurement of the Dengvaxia vaccines.
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, led by Gordon, conducted an inquiry into the Dengvaxia issue. The panel recommended to the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the Office of the Ombudsman to look into possible graft changes against former Health Secretary Janet Garin, Abad, Aquino, and others.
The DOJ recently filed reckless imprudence resulting in homicide against Garin. Aquino and Abad were spared, which prompted Gordon to question why Garin was the only one to face the consequences.
Nevertheless, Gordon expressed his opinion that filing homicide against Garin and others may not really stand in court as there is no scientific evidence linking the Dengvaxia vaccine to the deaths of children who were given the anti-dengue vaccine.
Gordon stressed that the procurement of the vaccine was made in haste and with the alleged intervention of Aquino.
In a February statement, President Duterte ordered a ‘vigorous’ campaign for immunization.
