Sanofi scandal in the Philippines could spread dangerous mistrust of vaccines
Sanofi's vaccine worsens, rather than prevents, future dengue infections in some patients. The company vaccinated 830,000 children in the Philippines, where lawmakers now demand an accounting.
In an era when too many people remain suspicious of vaccines, one of the world’s largest manufacturers may have made matters worse while trying to control dengue fever.
For the past two weeks, Sanofi has been engulfed by scandal in the Philippines after disclosing that its Dengvaxia vaccine could — rather than prevent — future cases of the mosquito-borne virus in people who had not previously been infected. About 830,000 children in the Philippines were vaccinated; now the government is demanding a $59 million refund and probing whether the vaccine was
