An infectious disease expert said the public should keep an open mind on the available tools, including the Dengvaxia vaccine, to combat the rising number of dengue cases in the country.

Dr. Edsel Salvana said that "we really should use everything that is in our toolbox."

"The bottom line is, we should look at all these tools," he said on Thursday, July 14.

“Alam naman natin na malaki talaga iyong pinsala ng dengue sa ating bansa and we should keep an open mind all the time,” he added.

Salvana said that the Dengvaxia vaccine is currently being used in the US, Europe, and Singapore.

"Ginagamit siya sa Estados Unidos; ginagamit siya sa Europa in the endemic areas of these places and okay naman (It is already being used in the United States, in Europe--- in the endemic areas of these places and they were okay)," he said.

“In fact, may mga tao nga para makakuha sila ng Dengvaxia dito sa Pilipinas ay pumupunta silang Singapore dahil aprubado naman doon (In fact, there are people here in the Philippines who go to Singapore just to get Dengvaxia because it is approved there),” he added.

Aside from the Dengvaxia vaccine, there is also another anti-dengue vaccine, said Salvana.

“There’s actually another dengue vaccine that has already done clinical trials, concluded Phase III— iyong dengue vaccine ng Takeda (it is the dengue vaccine of Takeda). And so, these are all options,” he said.

The country has already recorded 64,797 dengue cases from Jan. 1 to June 25. The DOH said that the number of cases this year is 90 percent higher as compared to the 34,074 dengue cases reported during the same period last year.

In 2016, the DOH started its dengue vaccination campaign using the Dengvaxia vaccine involving more than 830,000 school children.

The following year, French pharmaceutical company and Dengvaxia maker Sanofi Pasteur announced an updated evidence regarding Dengvaxia. It said that people who received the vaccine--- but have not had prior dengue infection--- could be vulnerable to severe dengue.

“The analysis confirmed that Dengvaxia provides persistent protective benefit against dengue fever in those who had prior infection…. 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 then stated.

In 2017, the Philippine Food and Drug Administration initially suspended the certificate of product registration (CPR) of Dengvaxia, and subsequently ordered its permanent revocation.