in , ,

Harry Roque places blame on Dengaxia vax scare for COVID-19 vax “choosiness”

Harry Roque once again finding ways to save face for the Duterte administration.

Looks like Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque is once again working overtime trying to salvage whatever credibility the Duterte administration has left.

In an online briefing held last January 12, Roque blamed Filipino’s aversion to CoronaVax, Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine, to a three-year-old issue: the Dengvaxia scare of 2017.

During the briefing, Roque said the Dengvaxia scare may have influenced Filipinos reacting negatively to the government securing CoronaVax.

“Huwag po nating pakinggan ang mga self-proclaimed experts,” said Roque, quoting Dr. Lulu Bravo of the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination.

“Kapag na-aprubahan po iyan ng FDA [Food and Drug Administration] lalo na for general use—at ito ay ginagamit sa buong mundo—wala po tayong dapat ikatakot sa ganyang bakuna,” he added

He also asked Filipinos to be more vigilant and be critical of any information they may encounter about certain vaccines—a possible hint at articles and studies saying CoronaVax has questionable efficacy at best.

Netizens have gone after Roque on social media, especially when he was one of the people responsible for creating the controversy in the first place.

Netizens have also called out Roque for bringing up Dengvaxia when, in fact, it was more of scientific studies and statistics that have Filipinos scared about CoronaVac.

There’s also the fact that Filipinos nowadays have very little faith in the national government despite what recent surveys might say.

Roque has also been acting as Malacañang’s spin doctor, a job that no one thought would exist in 2020.

One name, however, has been brought back from the “dead”: Public Attorney’s Office nationwide head Persida Rueda-Acosta.

https://twitter.com/spesest42/status/1349191259760443393?s=21

In 2017, Acosta filed complaints against health officials for deaths being linked to children being inoculated with the then-brand new Dengue virus vaccine.

The Department of Health would put a stopper on Acosta’s ploy as they were able to confirm that none of the deaths were directly caused by Dengvaxia in late 2017.

Netizens slam Harry Roque after his 91.5 percent claim on Sinovac

China’s Sinovac vaccine has very low efficacy rate, causes confusion due to limited data