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Former Health Secretary claims to have been pressured to expand vaccine’s coverage
Former Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial
December 16th, 2017 | 10:06 AM | 1445 views
PHILIPPINE
Former Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Paulyn Ubial implicated two members of the House of Representatives as pressuring her to expand the coverage of Dengvaxia, a vaccine whose maker, Sanofi Pasteur, had admitted posed serious health risks to those who had never contracted the disease.
At the second hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon and Health Committees, Thursday, Dec. 14, on the P3.5-billion dengue immunization program, Ubial repeatedly said that she was “pressured” by Congress to expand the administration of the anti-dengue vaccine to Region 7 despite “safety questions” about the vaccine.
Originally, the program was implemented only in Regions 3, 4-A and National Capital Region (NCR). But lawmakers, Ubial said, pushed her to expand the program to Region 7.
Before the Senate hearing was suspended, Ubial revealed the names of two congressmen who allegedly pressured her – Iloilo Representative Oscar “Richard” Garin Jr. and Cebu Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia.
She said it was Rep. Garin, husband of former Health Sec. Janette Garin, who prodded her “to buy more dengue vaccine and put it in the 2018 budget.” She even quoted minutes from a DOH budget hearing held in the Lower Chamber August 14 this year to support her claim.
“You have to put additional budget to comply for the third dose…kasi wala kang items dyan, wala kang budget for the dengue vaccine. You have to put additional budget to continue this, para hindi naman prejudiced yung first and second dose mo,” Rep. Garin told Ubial as read from the House minutes.
Sec. Garin: ‘Sounded more of concern’
Sec. Garin defended her spouse from Ubial’s claims, saying that while she respects her successor’s opinions, her husband’s appeal sounded more of a “concern” for the administration of the third dose of dengue vaccine.
She also denied having influence over the appeal to expand the program to Region 7 as she, during her time at the DOH, followed the initial plan on the areas of implementation.
Sec. Garin, on the other hand, cited an epidemiological report which found the Region 7 showed a high incidence of dengue virus.
Sec. Garin, who was previously a congresswoman, likewise dismissed Ubial’s claims of being pressured, saying “it is but natural for the Congress to request for the needs of its constituents.”
Badgered by Garcia
Ubial said Garcia, meanwhile, “badgered” her into including her constituent region in the rollout of the immunization program. Citing a separate House transcription dated September 6, 2016, Ubial said Garcia, during a budget deliberation, assured that she will be “very active in the plenary to fight for Region 7 poor school children that need this vaccine.”
“It took one hour exchanges of questions, and badgering me, and trying to make me commit to expand the implementation of dengue vaccination to Region 7…They will defer the budget of the DOH if I did not do that,” Ubial said in the Senate hearing.
Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN
by Vanne Elaine Terrazola
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