MANILA: The Philippines is prepared for a “worst-case scenario” following warnings that an anti-dengue vaccine administered to thousands of children may worsen the disease in some cases, a health official said Saturday.
Department of Health spokesman Eric Tayag said the country had already taken precautions against potential mishaps when it became the first country to use the landmark vaccine in 2016.
The developer of the world’s first vaccine for the potentially deadly virus, French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, revealed earlier this week that it could trigger more severe symptoms in people who had not been previously infected with dengue.
More than 733,000 children have already received Dengvaxia, raising fears that many could develop the harsher form of the disease.
“The Department of Health is prepared for a worst-case scenario,” Tayag told ABS-CBN television, a day after the agency announced it was suspending its mass vaccination program.
Tayag said the government had been careful to only implement the scheme in areas where dengue was already widespread and had only given it to children aged nine or older.
“They are being followed up for adverse effects following immunization,” he said.
He added that the department, which had previously said there were no reported cases of worsened infection among those who received the vaccine, was also checking hospital records for severe cases of dengue.
Sanofi had said such acute dengue cases would not become apparent till about five years after vaccination, Tayag added.
The developer initially said its Dengvaxia vaccine was “critical” in the fight against dengue, the world’s most common mosquito-borne virus.
It said Wednesday that a new study has confirmed Dengvaxia’s benefits for “those who had prior infection” with the potentially lethal disease.
“For those not previously infected by dengue virus, however, the analysis found that in the longer term, more cases of severe disease could occur following vaccination upon a subsequent dengue infection,” Sanofi said.
More than 1,000 people in the Philippines died from dengue last year, out of more than 211,000 suspected cases, according to the government.
Philippines ‘prepared for worst’ in dengue vaccine concerns
Philippines ‘prepared for worst’ in dengue vaccine concerns
Attacks on Sudan health care facilities killed 69 this year: WHO
- “Five attacks on health care have already been recorded in Sudan, killing 69 people and injuring 49,” WHO chief wrote on X
- The WHO has confirmed at least 206 attacks on health care facilities since the start of the war
CAIRO: Five attacks on health care facilities have killed dozens of people in Sudan since the beginning of the year, the WHO said Saturday, as the war nears the start of its fourth year.
The fighting between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has dismantled an already fragile medical system, with more than a third of facilities currently out of service.
“During the first 50 days of 2026, five attacks on health care have already been recorded in Sudan, killing 69 people and injuring 49,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.
On Sunday a hospital was targeted in the southeastern state of Sennar, leaving three patients dead and seven people wounded, including an employee, Tedros said.
In three other attacks early this month, more than 30 people were killed when medical centers were targeted in South Kordofan, a vast region south of the capital Khartoum that is currently a focus of the fighting.
The WHO has confirmed at least 206 attacks on health care facilities since the start of the war in April 2023, resulting in the deaths of around 2,000 people and injuries to several hundred.
Last year alone, 65 attacks killed more than 1,620 people, accounting for 80 percent of all deaths worldwide linked to attacks on the medical sector, according to the WHO.
Since it broke out, Sudan’s civil war has killed tens of thousands of people and forced 11 million to flee their homes, triggering what the UN says is one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
According to the WHO, the country is facing multiple disease outbreaks, notably cholera, malaria, dengue and measles, in addition to malnutrition.
Some 4.2 million cases of acute malnutrition are expected to arise in Sudan this year, including more than 800,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition, the WHO chief said earlier this month.
Around 33 million people will be left without humanitarian aid in 2026, with the United Nations warning in January that its aid stocks could run out by the end of March.
