Health Secretary Janette Garin (right) talks to the media along with toxicologists from government hospitals, Dr. Visitacion Antonio (center) and Dr. Benjamin Yson, on Monday. The officials assured the public on the safety of milk teas and that the poisoning incident is an isolated case. (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) — The world’s first tetravalent dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, is set to roll out nationwide in hospitals across the Philippines.
“The Philippines has been at the forefront of the development (of this vaccine),” said Dr. Rose Capeding, head of the Department of Microbiology at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) at a press briefing on Thursday.
Dr. Rose de los Reyes, president of the Philippine Society of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, said that the vaccine for four types of dengue is already available in some private hospitals and government storehouses.
Developed by French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine’s price will be “reasonable,” acording to Dr. Sally Gatchalian, Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines (PIDSP) President.
However, Dr. Gatchalian declined to provide concrete pricing information.
Dr. Capeding said the vaccine took 20 years to develop, with clinical tests taking place in multiple countries around Asia and Latin America.
Testing began in the Philippines in 2005 and took place at San Pablo City and Cebu City.
Capeding said testing took place in Latin America and Asia because of high incidence rates in these dengue-endemic areas.
From the 40,000 persons tested in 15 countries for the endemic or CYD14 stage (phase 3), a 65.6 percent reduction in symptomatic dengue was noted.
The vaccine is to be taken in three shots at six month intervals. A reduction of 93.2 percent in severe dengue cases and a reduction of 80.08 percent in hospitalization was also remarked.
No notable side effects
According to Capeding, two test groups—a group injected with the live vaccine and a placebo control group—were observed for systemic and localized reactions.
Systemic reactions included headaches, fever, and muscle and joint pains. Local reactions include swelling or redness around the point of entry for the injection.
These were not considered to be notable side effects.
The vaccine is to be taken in three shots at six month intervals, by any healthy individual aged 9 to 45, unless immunocompromised.
Dengue is estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) to infect almost 400 million people globally every year. Some 3.9 billion or half of the world’s population live in dengue endemic countries.
Out of 390 million persons infected per year, 96 million exhibit symptoms, 500,000 require hospitalization, and 2.5 percent of persons with severe dengue will die.
WHO describes dengue as the fastest mosquito-born disease in the world, with global costs for dengue rising to P276 billion annually.
The Philippines became the first Asian country to approve the sale of Dengvaxia last December, just days after Mexico approved its use.
However, the vaccine’s Philippine launch was delayed pending the World Health Organization’s prequalification guidelines and recommendations.
A month later, its distribution was announced by Health Secretary Janet Garin, who noted that P3 billion was already allocated for the rollout.
According to Garin, P16 billion of the Philippines’ yearly budget is spent to combat dengue, with most incidences occurring in the National Capital Region (NCR), Region III, and Region IV-A. (MNS)