DOH orders speedy release of Dengvaxia claims in Calabarzon

BATANGAS, Philippines – Regional Director Eduardo Janairo of the Department of Health (DOH)-Calabarzon on Monday, May 7, instructed all provincial DOH representatives to immediately implement the approved guidelines for Dengvaxia claims in the region.

“The one-time financial assistance of P50,000 under DOH Department Order No. 2018-0147 shall be released by the Office of the President to surviving family members of deceased Dengvaxia vaccinees who have received the vaccine during the 2016 school- and community-based vaccination program,” Janairo said.

The order specified that only the claims of surviving family members of deceased dengue vaccinees in the DOH master list will be processed, and only the next of kin will receive the one-time financial assistance. (READ: TIMELINE: Dengue immunization program for public school students)

According to Janairo, claimants can file at the DOH Public Assistance Unit, which is tasked to receive and process claims supported by required documents, such as:

• original birth and death certificate of the deceased recipient duly authenticated by the Philippine National Statistics Office, or a certified true copy (CTC) of the birth certificate from the city or municipal civil registry
• original dengue immunization ID of the deceased, or original certification from the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau that the deceased was a dengue vaccine recipient
• original or CTC of the medical or clinical abstract with signature of the attending physician, license number, and professional tax receipt number

Janairo said they will implement guidelines tailor-made for the needs of the claimants in order to lessen the burden of having to prepare too many documents.

“These surviving family members are already in the state of difficulty and suffering, and it is important to alleviate them from their condition and not to further their agony,” Janairo said.

He added: “Once all conditions are fulfilled, it will be deposited in the account of the claimant, or a check shall be issued provided he or she doesn’t have a bank account.” 

The Senate and the House of Representatives conducted investigations into the school-based dengue immunization program after Sanofi Pasteur issued an advisory in November 2017 that Dengvaxia could cause more severe cases of dengue if administered to a person who had not been previously infected by the virus.

The Department of Health has since suspended the program, and tapped experts from the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital to validate alleged deaths  due to Dengvaxia.

In April, the DOH said that over 3,200 students who received the dengue vaccine as part of the school-based immunization program were hospitalized following their vaccination. – Rappler.com