Dengue vaccination set to struggle with low number of doses

Brazil’s Health Ministry announced it will focus its upcoming first-ever dengue vaccination campaign on a subgroup of children and teens aged 6 to 16 due to the low quantity of jabs supplied by the Takeda pharmaceutical company. Eder Gatti, director of the federal vaccination program, said in a press conference that the “very small” quantity of vaccine doses imposes a challenge.

In December, the government announced the purchase and distribution of Takeda’s Qdenga vaccine in the public health system. Takeda has committed to providing just over 5 million doses in 2024, enough to vaccinate around 2.5 million people with the two-dose regimen, or about 1 percent of Brazil’s population.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently recommended Qdenga “for children aged 6 to 16 years living in areas where dengue is a significant public health problem,” and Mr. Gatti said the government intends to follow that guideline.

“We will decide the best group to vaccinate” within that bracket, Mr. Gatti added, so as to achieve “the best result.” A final decision is expected by the end of the month, in order for the campaign to start in February.

The government also announced it is currently negotiating with Takeda for the donation of a further 1.2 million doses.

Brazil reported a record 1,094 deaths from dengue fever in 2023 and more than 1.6 million dengue cases, a 16 percent increase compared to 2022. 

Federal health regulator Anvisa approved Takeda’s Qdenga vaccine in March 2023, but it is up to the government to decide whether to purchase and distribute the vaccines as a matter of policy. Sabin, a large private laboratory, currently offers the two-dose regimen for around BRL 800 (USD 163), more than 56 percent of Brazil’s monthly minimum wage.

Brazil will be the first country to offer Qdenga in its public healthcare system.

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