MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health on Wednesday, August 29, urged lawmakers at the Senate to pass the proposed P1.16-billion medical support fund for students who received the Dengvaxia dengue vaccine.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said as the Senate version of the bill is still pending, the DOH is “stretching its resources” to address the needs of students who got the risky dengue vaccine.

“We want to inform the Senate that every day that passes is crucial in delivering the best health outcomes for the vaccinees,” he added.

Duque appealed to lawmakers after the supplemental budget was not passed after deliberations at the Senate last August 15.

The House of Representatives earlier passed its version of the bill on the proposed special fund in May 2018 as soon as President Rodrigo Duterte certified it as urgent.

The proposed P1.16-billion fund will be used to shoulder the medical expenses and monitor the health of over 870,000 public school students who got the dengue vaccine through the government’s now-suspended immunization program.

The fund is broken down as follows:

• P945,827,530 for Medical Assistance Program
• P78,296,250 for the assessment and monitoring of Dengvaxia-vaccinated children
• P70,000,000 for supplies and medicine
• P67,586,220 for health workers to be deployed to monitor the vaccinated kids

The money will be sourced from the amount refunded to the Philippine government by vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur.

The Dengvaxia controversy started in November 2017 vaccine after it released an advisory warning that its vaccine could cause a person to later develop severe dengue if he or she had not been infected by the virus prior to immunization. – Rappler.com