NOW on ANC: DOH holds press briefing pic.twitter.com/CfMHOrPtvA

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) December 1, 2017

MANILA - Cases of "severe dengue infection" have yet to be reported among some 700,000 Filipino children given a vaccine that poses risks to individuals who have never had the mosquito-borne disease, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Friday.

"Currently, there is no reported case of severe dengue infection among those who received the vaccine," Duque said in a press conference.

In December 2015, the Philippines became the first country in Asia to approve the vaccine for individuals aged 9 to 45.

The Department of Health (DOH) procured P3 billion worth of Dengvaxia intended for one million public school children in areas reported to have the highest incidence of dengue on the same year.

The Dengvaxia vaccine is capable of lowering severity in dengue cases by 93 percent and reduces hospitalization rate by 82 percent, health officials said.

But vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur on Wednesday reported that Dengvaxia should not be recommended to individuals if they have never been infected with the dengue virus.

It warned that the vaccine may cause "more severe dengue cases" on those who may contract the disease for the first time.

Duque said public hospitals and health clinics have been tasked to
conduct "mandatory history taking on immunization, mandatory reporting of all hospitalized cases of vaccines regardless of their symptoms, and mandatory investigations" on the medical conditions of all children who took part in government's anti-dengue vaccination program.

This post-vaccination surveillance will be conducted for 5 years, Duque said.

"I hope that this development will not in anyway affect the Department of Health's expanded program on immunization because there have been countless lives saved from vaccine-preventable diseases," he said.

The DOH has suspended its anti-dengue vaccination program, but private health care providers still have the discretion if they want to continue administering the vaccine on patients.

• Philippines suspends dengcfue vaccine program after Sanofi warns of risks

"Hindi lahat ng nabakunahan ay at risk. Ang at risk lang dito ay 'yung mga nabakunahan na hindi pa nagkaka-dengue," DOH spokesman Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy said.

The Food and Drug Administration said Sanofi Pasteur has proposed a labeling change to warn future users of the vaccine about the newly-discovered risks.

"Kung ano 'yung nasa market, 'yun na 'yun. Ang papalitan lang is 'yung product information leaflet. Hindi lang nila puwede ibenta hangga't hindi pa napapalitan [ang] product information leaflet," the FDA said.

As of November 2017, about 733,713 Filipino children have been given the anti-dengue vaccine. At least 789,010 units of Dengvaxia, most of which will expire next year, have yet to be used, the DOH said.

Duque said government is waiting for Sanofi Pasteur to qualify what it meant by "severe cases". The DOH has also assembled a team of experts that would submit a recommendation on how to deal with the situation.

For now, parents of children who received the vaccine are advised to monitor the condition of their kids, Lee Suy said.