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)
