Pimentel demands full refund from Sanofi for Dengvaxia mess
Dengvaxia from Sanofi. — EDWIN BACASMAS
Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Sunday called on the Department of Health (DOH) to ask not only for a refund on unused Dengvaxia vaccines, but also for the P3.5 billion cost of the entire contract.
Pimentel’s statement came on the heels of DOH’s announcement that it has issued demand letters asking the controversial anti-dengue vaccine manufacturer, Sanofi Pasteur, to refund the P1.4 billion cost of the vaccines that remain unused and to conduct serotesting of the children who were given the vaccine.
“All the vaccines were defective from the very beginning. Therefore, under our laws, we should demand the whole P3.5 billion we paid them and not just part of it,” Pimentel said in a statement.
The Senate leader noted that the Civil Code indicates that “you can have a defective product replaced or refunded.”
“Since there is no possible replacement for the vaccine, refund is the only option,” he added.
Pimentel also pointed out that even if Sanofi pays the full amount, it still does not release them from any liabilities that may arise from putting more than 800,000 children at risk.
The Philippines was the first country in Asia to approve the use of the vaccine in December 2015.
In April 2016, the DOH, under former Health Secretary Janette Garin’s watch, bought the vaccines intended for public schoolchildren in areas with high incidences of dengue.
But the vaccination drive was halted by current Health Secretary Francisco Duque III when Sanofi bared in November 2017 that Dengvaxia could worsen symptoms of the disease for people who had not previously been infected by the virus.
The Senate is currently probing the procurement of Dengvaxia through its blue ribbon committee. /je
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