The world’s first dengue vaccine is now available in private clinics in the Philippines. The vaccine, which is aptly called Dengvaxia, was launched in Manila on February 12.
According to a fact sheet by the Department of Health (DOH), the vaccine was developed over a period of 20 years.
“The fact that the three phases of the clinical trial has been concluded in the Philippines is a reflection of the efficiency and capability of Filipino researchers. This shows that the world recognizes Philippine expertise in the area of research,” said Health Secretary Janette P. Loreto-Garin in the factsheet.
It was further revealed by Dr. Maria Rose Capeding of the Department of Microbiology Research Institute for Tropical Medicine that the country is the only country where all three stages of clinical trials were completed.
Clinical trials showed a “65.6 percent reduction in symptomatic dengue, 93 percent reduction in severe disease, and 80.8 percent reduction in hospitalized dengue.”
The vaccine, which was developed by Sanofi Pasteur, is recommended for people between the ages of 9 and 45 and is effective against all four strains of dengue.
Read: Surviving Dengue: how to protect your kids from mosquitoes
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), dengue is the fastest growing mosquito-borne disease in the world, causing some 400 million infections annually.
“In the last 50 years, incidence has increased 30-fold. An estimated 2.5 billion people live in over 100 endemic countries and areas where dengue viruses can be transmitted. Up to 50 million infections occur annually with 500 000 cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever and 22,000 deaths mainly among children,” the WHO said.
Also according to WHO, some 500,000 people are hospitalized per year for severe dengue, a majority of whom are children.
In the Philippines, the DOH reports that approximately 220 Filipinos a day can be infected with dengue, with each patient spending as much as PhP 18,000 in medical bills.
With the launch of the vaccine, however, the health sector hopes dengue cases in the country will be reduced by as much as 24 percent within a period of 5 years. This means there will be 775,053 less cases of dengue; 502,000 avoided hospitalizations; 22,010 avoided deaths; and close to 21 billion reduction in medical costs.
In a report, CNN said the Philippine government currently has P3.5 billion allotted for dengue immunization, and that the DOH is working for the approval for continuous funding.
In a recent interview on ANC, Garin revealed that the DOH expects to acquire the vaccine at a discounted price by March, and will initially target a total of 1,077,623 poor children aged 9 in the public school system. The government’s dengue immunization efforts will concentrate on NCR, Region III and Region IV-A, where dengue is most prevalent.
In St. Luke's Quezon City, the vaccine can cost up to PhP 5,000 per shot, with each patient receiving 3 shots 6 months apart.
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