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'Highly irresponsible': Garin slams PAO statement on Dengvaxia

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Trishia Billones, ABS-CBN News

<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8ncLFQOMuLY?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>MANILA - Former Health Secretary Janette Garin on Tuesday said the Public Attorney&#x27;s Office has been irresponsible in publicly linking some children&#x27;s deaths to the Dengvaxia vaccine.Garin, under whose watch the anti-dengue vaccine was rolled out to thousands of public school students, said misleading information &quot;can cast [a] shadow on the actual diagnosis of a patient.&quot;She said there are doctors who are now finding it hard to manage their patients because of parents who insist that the illness is connected to Dengvaxia.&quot;These irresponsible statements are now hurting the Filipino families. It’s creating a huge gap between doctors and the patients...If you look at the visuals and you’re not a doctor, it’s highly irresponsible,&quot; she told ANC&#x27;s Headstart.PAO, an autonomous office attached to the Department of Justice, has claimed finding a &quot;pattern&quot; that led to the deaths of at least 5 children who received drug-maker Sanofi Pasteur&#x27;s Dengvaxia.However, local health experts declared last week that there was no evidence directly linking the vaccine to any of the 14 alleged deaths investigated by the Philippine General Hospital.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/02/18/severe-dengue-nakita-sa-3-patay-pero-di-pa-rin-masisisi-ang-dengvaxia">&#x27;Severe dengue, nakita sa 3 patay; pero di pa rin masisisi ang Dengvaxia&#x27;</a></li></ul>PAO Chief Persida Acosta said they released their findings not to cause panic among people, but to spur awareness among parents and urge them to immediately seek medical help if they monitor critical symptoms of dengue in their children.&quot;Ito po ay awareness para po kung yung mga anak niyo na may sintomas na, ng critical signs of dengue severe or severe illnesses dahil sila ay hindi pa na dengue nung maturukan, &#x27;wag na pong magpaligoy ligoy ang mga magulang, dalhin sa mga ospital,&quot; Acosta told DZMM in a separate interview.<div>DIRECTOR&#x27;S STATEMENTS TO HELP SANOFI</div>Garin also slammed Dr. Erwin Erfe, director of PAO&#x27;s forensic laboratory, for conducting autopsies on the individuals whose deaths are allegedly linked to Dengvaxia.&quot;When you examine the causality of vaccine and an illness or a death, it involves a lot factors, involves a whole team. You cannot give a conclusion overnight,&quot; she said.&quot;Without casting aspersion on the personal opinion of Dr. Erfe, this calls for a level or a set of competency and the basic qualification is you have to be a pathologist. He’s not a pathologist as I was informed,&quot; she said.Garin also warned that with Erfe&#x27;s statements made public, &quot;he might create a bigger and better defense for Sanofi Pasteur.&quot;&quot;It will be easy for their lawyers to rebut the government—PAO is with the government. If PAO and Dr. Erfe have been coming out several times, saying this is the cause, all they have to do is point out the process, the method, the qualification, the expertise of the persons involved, announcing these things,&quot; she said.

Former Health Secretary Janette Garin on Tuesday said the Public Attorney's Office has been irresponsible in publicly linking some children's deaths to the Dengvaxia vaccine.

Former Health Secretary Janette Garin on Tuesday said the Public Attorney's Office has been irresponsible in publicly linking some children's deaths to the Dengvaxia vaccine.

'Highly irresponsible': Garin slams PAO statement on Dengvaxia

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'Highly irresponsible': Garin slams PAO statement on Dengvaxia

Trishia Billones,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 06, 2018 12:46 PM PHT

|

Updated Aug 07, 2019 06:20 PM PHT

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Janette Garin

Persida Acosta

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