Court to DoH: Answer petition vs pediatric jab

A QUEZON City court on Wednesday ordered Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd and Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire to submit their counter argument in three days on the petition seeking to stop the vaccination of children ages 5 to 11 against Covid-19.

Public Attorney's Office (PAO) chief Persida Rueda-Acosta told The Manila Times that Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 96 Judge Primo Sio was due to submit for resolution the temporary restraining order (TRO) and writ of preliminary injunction being sought by petitioners Dominic Almelor of Quezon City and Girlie Samonte of Tondo, Manila against the DoH's pediatric jab program.

"Oral arguments were finished and the DoH officials were given three days to comment, thereafter, the petitioners were also given the same number of days to reply then the TRO would be submitted for resolution," Rueda-Acosta said.

Almelor and Samonte, both parents, sought the PAO's help to halt the DoH's vaccination drive for children, which they described as unconstitutional.

Rueda-Acosta clarified that the PAO did not mean to diminish the efforts of President Rodrigo Duterte to contain the pandemic but "to guide him in saving the lives of Filipino children and acting in their best interest, and protect them from undue experimentation without their parents'/guardians' consent."

"The parents are just trying to save him from being held responsible for a huge mistake, as what happened in the Dengvaxia case. It must be stopped or are we only going to stop it when there would be deaths caused by it?" she said.

Duterte earlier urged the PAO chief to let the children get vaccinated against Covid-19.

"If you don't want to get vaccinated, that's on you. Don't involve the children," Duterte said during his "Talk to the People" program on Monday night.

The DoH said pediatric vaccination could not happen without parental approval but Rueda-Acosta maintained that that was not the case, as indicated in a DoH memorandum giving the Department of Social Welfare and Development or its counterparts authority to give consent in case parents or guardians would refused to get their children jabbed.

The Health department said it has already removed that portion of the memorandum.

Rueda-Acosta accused Vergeire of misleading the public when she claimed that Covid-19 vaccines are safe despite declarations from manufacturers of their serious adverse effects.

"Usec. Vergeire's statement of 'safety' is highly misleading to the public for the reason that the manufacturer had declared the said serious adverse effects," she said.

"It may be safe to one but to others, it is highly risky per report declaration," she added.

Rueda-Acosta warned that it could lead to a "Dengvaxia 2nd," referring to the dengue jab whose administration was ordered stopped by Duterte following nearly 200 pediatric deaths linked to its use.

Meanwhile, the Alliance of Filipinos for Freedom and Informed Choice said that it would file a separate petition to stop the vaccination of children against Covid-19.

Source: TheManila Times